NFTs and branding – Does trademark protection need to be considered?

Over the years, the concept of metaverse has been trending, and people have already started investing in its markets. Many companies started creating NFTs for their brands and entering the metaverse market. Since NFTs uniquely represent a product and it is irreplaceable, they play a key role in taking your business to the next level. However, infringements and illegal usage are also common in the metaverse. Trademarking your NFTs is the best option to protect your brand’s identity. Read more to know about the essence of NFT trademarking.

An Overview of NFTs

NFTs refer to digital and physical goods whose information and ownership are maintained in blockchain technology. An NFT can be anything, such as a shoe, a dress, an art, etc., unique, irreplaceable, and whose ownership is maintained under blockchain technology. Nowadays, minting(creating) NFTs for your brand helps you increase revenue, extend your business globally, and increase the consumer base. Since NFTs are maintained in blockchain, the transactions are secured and permanently stored. Trademarking your NFTs is the wise option to protect the uniqueness of your brand and make your business succeed in the metaverse.

Importance of trademarking the NFTs

A trademark helps protect a brand’s identity by distinguishing it from others. It prevents others from using a brand’s name, logo, and identity. It helps avoid customer confusion and makes a brand stand unique.

Protecting an NFT involves trademarking the NFT’s name and logo. By trademarking an NFT, you can legally protect your brand’s identity in the metaverse. The benefits of trademarking an NFT name include the following,

  • Safeguard your brand’s identity, as no one else can use the same name or similar logo of your NFT for their brand.
  • By trademarking your NFT, you can establish your ownership and prevent infringements and illegal usage of your brand’s name.
  • Since your brand’s identity is well-retained, your customer base will grow in the digital marketplace.
  • Possibility to expand your business across the world.
  • No matter what sector your brand comes under, you can register a trademark for NFT under all sectors.
  • Since your NFTs are trademarked, and your ownership is established, your brand will be trusted more in the metaverse.

To Sum Up

We all aim to protect our identity and stand unique among all. Brand identity is an essential factor that keeps a business growth for a prolonged period. Since businesses are extending their presence in the metaverse, protecting their identity, there is also important. Like the physical world, infringements and illegal usage can also occur in the metaverse. Trademarking your NFT names and logo will prevent your brand from losing its identity and uniqueness in the digital world and keep your customer base growing.

Get in touch with Brealant for your help!

Brealant helps you protect your Intellectual Property by assisting you in trademark, copyright, and patent registration. Contact us right now to protect your rights with your brand and expand your business internationally.

Know About The IP in NFTs

According to WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), Intellectual Property (IP) refers to the unique inventions or creations of any form, such as art, music, pictures, etc., by anyone. In order to preserve the creators’ rights to their creations, intellectual property protections such as copyrights, patents, and trademarks are being enforced.

Over the past few years, the metaverse has been evolving constantly and attempting to trade goods and services as we do in the physical world. NFTs (Non-fungible Tokens) came into existence during the period of the early 2010s but earned popularity in 2021. They are distinct digital units representing the metadata of digital assets. Read more to learn about the relationship between IPs and NFTs.

What are NFTs, and how are they stored?

NFTs are unique and non-interchangeable digital tokens that are stored using blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is a decentralized technology where every transaction record and ownership details have been stored securely. The NFTs minted (created) and stored in the blockchain database are the products’ metadata, not the actual products. This is where the confusion arises with the ownership of the NFTs.

How do IPs protect NFTs?

Like the physical world, infringements and unauthorized usage can happen in the metaverse too. Though we can protect the uniqueness of NFTs through IP protection methods, their ownerships are still confusing.

Anyone who creates or mints an NFT doesn’t hold the owners of the actual product itself but the digital token that holds the product’s metadata. Anyone who buys the NFT buys the metadata and not the ownership of the product. If anyone wants to buy the product’s copyright, he has to ask for the transfer of ownership and copyrights.

Copyrights, Patents, and Trademarks of the NFTs

When someone holds the copyrights of a product, he has the right to modify or reproduce it. As mentioned above, whoever buys an NFT does not buy the ownership of the underlying product or work. The buyer can acquire the original copyright of a product only when the creator agrees to transfer the copyrights to the NFT buyer. Without obtaining the copyright, if the NFT buyer tries to modify or reproduce the underlying product, it will be considered a copyright infringement.

For business purposes, creators who want their works to be unique must trademark their NFTs. If anyone tries to mint or sell the trademarked NFTs, it will be considered trademark infringement. Likewise, patenting the NFTs will prevent the assets from infringements and provide effective ways to monetize them.

Conclusion

Since NFTs became popular in 2021, most people have been unaware of their importance. NFTs are effective in increasing sales through tokenizing them in the metaverse. IP protection prevents anyone from using or modifying the product other than the owner, not only in the physical world but also in the metaverse. So, understanding the importance of IP protection and following its regulations carefully is essential to protect your digital assets.

Bullards Won the Trademark Dispute Against Red Bull

Have you ever wondered why some brands get under the legal radar because of trademark infringement? Well, sometimes, the accusations can be false. In this case, an Austrian energy drink brand called Red Bull lost the legal battle against the old-school Gin maker firm Bullards.

Last year, Red Bull’s attorneys sent a letter to the Norwich-based spirits company Bullards challenging the registration of Bullards as a trademark. The letter said that because both brand names “contained the term bull,” there was a “likelihood of misinterpretation on the part of the public.” In addition, Bullards was legally bound in the letter to striking off several products and services, including energy drinks, occasions, and non-alcoholic beverages, from its trademark application and registration.

Are the two companies of the exact origin?

It is clearly defined that legal rivals have different origins. Richard Bullard established Bullards in 1837, producing beer and importing wine and spirits until it was acquired by the national brewery Watneys in 1963. In 2015, the Bullards brand was brought back, with the company concentrating on gin. Around 150 years after Bullards, the Austrian company Red Bull was established in 1987. Since the corporation has a history that spans over two centuries, the public has appeared to be entirely unconfounded by the name.

Red Bull’s attorneys sent a letter to Bullard opposing the govt jobs application for a trademark, arguing that there was a chance the general public might confuse the two products, as the word ‘bull’ being present in the name of the brands. Being legally accused by the energy drink giant, Russel Evans of Bullards was advised by many people to accept the claim of Red Bull, but he and the team decided to take a stance against the goliath. The Gin-makers are proud of their big win.

What was the final take?

The hearing outcome, which was decided this month, determined that Red Bull’s challenge to the trademark application was ineffective.

“Bullards is not in any way a logical brand extension of Red Bull,” said Allan James, a senior hearing officer at the UK Intellectual Property Office, as part of his ruling.

Bullards’ trademark attorney, Luke Portnow, claimed that Red Bull and Bullards are in such distinct industries that no amount of fame in the energy drink industry would be sufficient to bar usage or registration in this country.

The decision confirms that a conclusion of indirect confusion cannot be made only because two marks have an ordinary constituent. When asked to say their view on the ruling, the Red Bull spokesperson avoided saying anything on the legal matter.

Bullards’ Russell Evans remarked on the inclusion of energy drinks that there are no genuine plans for energy drinks at this time, but he pushed for it and the events category on principle.

Conclusion

Red Bull has falsely accused a firm of a trademark Application before. In 2013, Red Bull threatened to sue Redwell Brewing over its name, which begins with “Red” and ends with “ll,” but then reportedly changed its tune and said there was no conflict over the brand name.