Luxury fashion brands have shown increased interest in the metaverse, cryptocurrencies, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The luxury brand known as Hermes is laying the groundwork for its entry into Web3 after filing a trademark application covering several issues in digital assets.
A filing by the US Patent and Trademark Office on August 26 shows that the trademark covers different areas such as downloadable software to view, store and manage several assets, including virtual goods, digital collectibles, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs to use in the online world.
Hermes has also filed trademarks that mention retail store services that will feature virtual goods, fashion shows, and trade shows. These shows will be seen in online, augmented, and mixed reality environments. It will also provide an online marketplace where buyers and sellers can access virtual goods.
Hermes lawsuit against Rothschild
In January, the new trademark application comes several months after a lawsuit was filed against the founder of Metabirkins, Mason Rothschild. The lawsuit was filed against Rothschild for allegedly using the Birkin brand name to earn money from the sale and the resale of his NFT Metabirkin collection.
The 47-page legal complaint filed by Hermes against Rothschild said that he used the “MetaBirkins” brand to make money from the famous Birkin bag trademark by integrating the “Meta” prefix to its famous trademark name “Birkin.” This led to users thinking that MetaBirkins was part of the luxury Birkin brand.
The lawsuit against Rothschild could be one reason why the luxury brand has filed its trademark rights to cover the metaverse, cryptocurrency, NFT products, and tokens.
Hermes is not the first, and it will likely not be the last brand to make a move related to the metaverse. Several fashion brands, including Adidas, Tiffany & Co, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, and Nike, have launched crypto-related offerings. Last month, data published by Dune Analytics showed that these companies had generated a total of $260 million worth of sales from NFTs.
Earlier this year, the Decentraland metaverse world was used to host the first Metaverse Fashion Week. The four-day digital fashion event features several wearables in virtual runways. The Metaverse Fashion Week attracted the participation of some of the top luxury fashion brands, including Etro, Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana, Estee Lauder, and Elie Saab. The metaverse event happened for four days.
