Hermés (no, not the postal shipping service), the luxury brand, has allegedly filed a trademark application which covers a range of things related to the metaverse. The brands filing covered a broad scope, such as web3, non-fungible tokens, even virtual currencies and dedicated virtual shows.
More specifically, the filing refers directly to related activities within ‘online virtual worlds’, along with ‘retail store services featuring virtual goods’, ‘online virtual, augmented or mixed reality environments’ and ‘providing an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of virtual goods.’
The added wrinkle that may have spurred on this decision comes from its already ongoing lawsuit against Mason Rothschild – the founder of Metabirkins – for allegedly profiting off the brands name through its ‘Metabirkins’ NFT collection.
The collection of NFTs had been traded for around 200 ETH (or $800,000), and proved to be a hit with buyers and within its secondary market.
Hermés, however, publically denounced the collection, adding that it did not authorise the use of their Birkin bags for any NFT collection.