Puma has filed trademarks indicating a move to the metaverse may be imminent.
The metaverse may be about to welcome another powerhouse retail company. On Jan. 11, Puma filed a trademark that points toward the brand selling virtual goods.
The trademark, as noted by trademark attorney Josh Gerben of Gerben Intellectual Property, reads:
“Providing an interactive website and computer application software for virtual reality game services [and] entertainment services, namely, providing on-line, non downloadable virtual footwear, clothing, headwear, eyewear, bags, sports bags, backpacks, sports equipment, art, toys, accessories, digital animated and non-animated designs and characters, avatars, digital overlays, and skins for use in virtual environments.”
Puma could use its cohort of young athletes such as LaMelo Ball, Deandre Ayton and Mikey Williams to bring its youth consumer base with them to the metaverse.
Puma isn’t the first sports apparel company to make moves into the metaverse. Both Nike and Adidas filed similar trademarks last year. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the swoosh filed such trademarks for “Nike,” “Just Do It,” “Air Jordan,” and “Jumpman” logos. Nike also has had job listings that are titled Virtual Material Designer I, Footwear and Virtual Material Designer II.
On the other hand, Adidas launched NFTs and has acquired a piece of virtual land inside The Sandbox, an ethereum-based decentralized NFT gaming metaverse.
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“As part of our ambition to celebrate ideas that are defining a new age of originality, we’ve landed at the forefront of creativity, which is the open metaverse,” said Erika Wykes-Sneyd, vice president of marketing and communications at Adidas Originals to Venturebeat.com. “It’s a natural place for Adidas Originals to enter: a wild world where possibilities are truly limitless and where anyone can express and be rewarded for their most original ideas.”
When exactly Puma will officially launch its digital products and other retail items remains to be seen.
