The footwear company filed a trademark application to use its name on future NFTs.
If you’re not sick of hearing about NFTs yet, you’re are about to see a whole lot more of them: the popular but often-ridiculed shoe brand Crocs (CROCS) filed a trademark application to use its name in the virtual space.
A way of asserting ownership over a piece of online content like a video or an image, nonfungible tokens have been ballooning in popularity among both collectors and investors as celebrities like Martha Stewart and Paris Hilton enter the space. Some popular NFTs, like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, can sell for millions.
Why Is This Needed?
Clothing brands like Nike (NKE) – Get NIKE, Inc. Class B Report, Adidas (ADDDF) and Under Armour (UAA) – Get Under Armour, Inc. Class A Report have all recently made moves to expand their offering of NFTs — while Nike has recently purchased a company that designs them, Under Armour has already launched one that looks like a sneaker worn by basketball legend Stephen Curry.
Submitted on Jan. 11 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the trademark filing requests the right to use the Crocs name on NFTs of “footwear, clothing, bags, accessories and charms for decorating” as well as the software needed to create and sell them.
While the filing needs to be reviewed by an examiner and could simply be made to secure rights for the future, its files as “intent-to-use” suggests that the company is likely to start pumping out NFTs soon.
Why Are Companies Doing This?
Amid several new collections and the pandemic’s rising demand for more comfortable footwear, Crocs shares rose by 63% in the last year. On Friday, Shares closed down 2.7% at $122.54.
NFTs are one portion of the elusive concept known as the metaverse — a combination of virtual and augmented reality that is seen by many as the next iteration of the internet, one that has users interact through avatars and online personas. NFTs can be a way to advertise one’s product in the metaverse; brands like Under Armour (UAA) – Get Under Armour, Inc. Class A Report and Chipotle (CMG) – Get Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Report have already started
“A number of traditionalist commentators have rebuffed NFTs as a fad,” Nigel Green wrote for TheStreet this summer. “Yet I would say these people would have likely dismissed the internet back in the 90s and ecommerce giants such as Amazon as pure hype in the 2000s.”
