Quick take:
- UPS has filed five new trademarks to cover NFTs and virtual services.
- Wendy’s has filed six new trademarks to expand into NFTs and virtual fast-food restaurants.
- Wendy’s joins McDonald’s, WingStop and Burger King in filing metaverse trademarks.
The United Parcel Service of America (UPS) has submitted five new trademarks applications for United Parcel Service, The UPS Store, UPS, and the UPS logo to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Apr 5.
The trademark covers a variety of goods and services including downloadable music, images and virtual goods authenticated by NFTs, an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital art images authenticated by NFTs, virtual retail shipping and delivery and retail stores featuring virtual goods.
UPS is the first shipping company to have filed metaverse trademarks to offer NFTs and virtual goods, although DHL has been looking into augmented reality in logistics. Washington DC-based trademark lawyer Mike Kondoudis commented that UPS’ trademark applications “mark the start of a new trend of NFT and Metaverse trademark filings from the shipping, logistics, and package delivery sector.”
On Apr 6, Quality Is Our Recipe, LLC (the owner of fast-food chain, Wendy’s) filed six new trademark applications to protect Wendy’s, the “Wendy” logo, Frosty, Baconator, and Wendyverse.
The trademarks cover virtual products and services such as NFTs and digital tokens, virtual foods, drinks, and restaurants, providing virtual worlds featuring restaurants, food and drink, as well as online communities for digital assets and virtual worlds.
Wendy’s filings come as no surprise as the fast-food chain revealed a video on Apr 2 of its virtual world, dubbed ‘Wendyverse’, located in Meta’s Horizon Worlds. The Wendyverse Town Square features a Wendy’s fast-food restaurant and a giant Wendy’s statue, among other decorative elements.
Anyone with a Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset can create an avatar, explore the Wendyverse, and order a Wendy’s “MetaMeal”. They can also experience being a virtual Wendy’s server behind the counter.
Wendy’s joins McDonald’s, WingStop, Yum! Brands (owner of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC) and other fast-food chains in filing trademark applications for NFTs and virtual goods and services.
“It is a safe bet that Wendy’s expects to join McDonald’s, Burger King, and Arby’s as a major player in that virtual economy,” said Kondoudis. He adds these trademark filings “follow the trend by other participants in the fast-food and restaurant sector like Burger King, Arby’s, Panera Bread, and Panda Express to begin preparations to participate in the Metaverse.”
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