Mercedes Benz Files for Metaverse, NFT, Trademarks

Luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz AG recently filed for metaverse and NFT trademarks of its IP. Benz's sudden interest in the metaverse appears to have been influenced by BMW's filing for metaverse trademarks last month.Trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis recently shared on Twitter that the German car manufacturer registered trademarks of its iconic IP, including Mercedes Benz, Mercedes, S-Class, G-Class, and Maybach. The filings suggest that Mercedes plans to use these trademarks in its upcoming web3 ventures. Some of the plans that the company specifically mentioned in its trademark application were:

• Downloadable virtual vehicles and accessories for use in virtual and extended reality environments
• Downloadable software for providing access to an online digital environment;?
• Retail store and marketplace services related to virtual goods
• NFT-backed virtual goods and interactive media; and
• Financial services for the issuance of digital tokens and cryptocurrency trading

In layman's terms, we can soon see some Mercedes-Benz NFTs, virtual brand apparel, and digital tokens from the company. However, this isn’t the car manufacturer’s first foray into the world of Web3. Back in 2019, Mercedes collaborated with Icertis to develop a blockchain-based supply chain documentation system. In the past, we've seen many mega-brands hedge their bets by filing these trademarks. The idea is that, in case the Web3 really blows up, they won't be left behind. Mercedes appears to do the same; it’ll be interesting to see what virtual products and services come to life from these trademarks.