Shaquille O’Neal’s latest trademark filings indicate big moves from the Big Aristotle touching virtual commerce, NFTs, and the metaverse.
Shaq Diesel is taking his talents to Web3.
On behalf of Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, marketing and entertainment firm Authentic Brands has filed three Shaq trademarks covering “virtual goods,” notes trademark attorney Josh Gerben of Gerben Intellectual Property. The filings include apparel, sporting goods, and toys — as well as a blockchain-powered marketplace for digital art, music, and video authenticated through NFTs.
Call him the Big Non-fungible.
As the three filings read verbatim, they aim to include:
- (1) Downloadable virtual goods, namely, computer programs featuring footwear, clothing, headwear, eyewear, bags, backpacks, sports equipment, art, toys and accessories for use online and in online virtual worlds; downloadable multimedia file containing artwork, text, audio, and video relating to Shaquille ONeal authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs); downloadable audio and video recordings featuring Shaquille ONeal authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs); downloadable image files featuring Shaquille ONeal authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- (2) Entertainment services, namely, providing on-line, non-downloadable virtual footwear, clothing, headwear, eyewear, bags, backpacks, sports equipment, art, toys and accessories for use in virtual environments; providing a website featuring non-downloadable videos featuring SHAQUILLE ONEAL; providing a website featuring non-downloadable photographs; providing online non-downloadable game software
- (3) Retail store services featuring virtual goods, namely, footwear, clothing, headwear, eyewear, bags, backpacks, sports equipment, art, toys and accessories for use online; online retail store services featuring virtual merchandise, namely, footwear, clothing, headwear, bags, backpacks, sports equipment, art, toys and accessories; provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital art images, music and video clips authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
Yes, that’s a big bundle of blockchain-backed buzzwords to internalize all at once.
Then again, Shaq Diesel is a big man.
And it may be that the virtual world of NFTs and the ever-expanding metaverse is the only one big enough for him.
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