This 12 months noticed an inflow of trademark purposes filed by numerous corporations trying to get in on the Web3 motion. By November, a complete of 4,999 trademark purposes had been filed in the USA for cryptocurrencies and digital-related items and providers — in accordance with United States Patent and Trademark Workplace-licensed trademark lawyer Mike Kondoudis.
Kondoudis believes the way forward for the Web3 ecosystem appears “brilliant” and “mainstream adoption is inevitable.” To study extra concerning the influence of Web3 trademark purposes filed on the way forward for the Web3 ecosystem, Cointelegraph interviewed Kondoudis.
Cointelegraph has coated a variety of trademark software tales in 2022, starting from luxurious manufacturers comparable to Hermès to automotive manufacturers like Ford, all making a bid for the Web3 ecosystem. In our interview, Kondoudis revealed that he was shocked by the scope and mixture of corporations that havefiled trademark purposes for the Web3 ecosystem.
Cointelegraph: What shocked you most about filed trademark purposes for the Web3 area this 12 months? Any attention-grabbing observations out of your perspective?
Mike Kondoudis: One of many greatest surprises is the disparate sectors represented on this 12 months’s Web3 trademark purposes. We noticed filings by grocery shops, pet meals manufacturers, sports activities groups and leagues, cities and landmarks, casinos/gaming corporations, and even sport exhibits. This was the 12 months that Web3 appeared to get the eye of company America.
CT: Had been you shocked by the type of corporations that filed trademark purposes for the Web3 ecosystem? Do you’ve gotten any statistics on the kind of corporations that filed essentially the most emblems for the Web3 area? For instance, was it meals corporations, booze corporations or automotive corporations?
MK: Sure, there have been some surprises this 12 months, and the wave of latest Web3 trademark purposes included some curious trademark purposes. For instance, we noticed Web3 trademark filings by automotive rental corporations. It isn’t solely clear how a lot of a market there could also be for digital automotive leases or rental automotive NFTs within the metaverse.
On the similar time, we noticed some sectors that had been saturated — all the main gamers filed Web3 trademark purposes. A few of these sectors embrace quick meals, monetary providers, clothes/attire, luxurious items and footwear.
Seeing the wide selection of trademark purposes filed this 12 months hints that mainstream adoption of Web3 expertise is inevitable and likewise reveals that the ecosystem has the potential to develop and thrive sooner or later.
CT: Based mostly on filed trademark purposes for the Web3 ecosystem, what do you imagine the way forward for Web3 (blockchain tech just like the metaverse, cryptocurrency and NFTs) will seem like?
MK: I feel the longer term is brilliant and that mainstream adoption is inevitable. There are positively macroeconomic forces and regulatory challenges to beat within the close to time period. However, based mostly on the Web3 trademarking exercise I’ve seen, there are a lot of main manufacturers which are making ready to noticeably put money into Web3 as a result of they acknowledge the benefits and alternatives that blockchain applied sciences supply. That funding ought to guarantee continued momentum towards the adoption of the Web3 ecosystem.
CT: Do you imagine corporations submitting for emblems within the metaverse, cryptocurrency and NFT area are taking part in a vital function within the adoption of blockchain-based applied sciences?
MK: Sure, I imagine that the businesses submitting new trademark purposes in these areas are important to the widespread adoption and implementation of Web3 and blockchain-based applied sciences. There are a number of technological challenges that can must be overcome for the widespread adoption of Web3, and that’s going to take time and money. At the moment’s Web3 trademark filers characterize the financial catalysts to fund the funding wanted to beat the technological challenges. And, their funding will, over time, convey the expertise inside attain of smaller and extra modest corporations.
All kinds of corporations — together with healthcare, insurance coverage and alcohol manufacturers — have all filed emblems for NFT-, cryptocurrency- and metaverse-related exercise. Nevertheless, these given examples could not be capable to navigate the area as simply as different manufacturers, comparable to clothes corporations, resulting from regulatory hurdles they should overcome to totally combine with the area.
CT: Do you assume corporations could have to beat and navigate regulatory challenges earlier than having the ability to navigate the Web3 area?
MK: I feel that this can be a sector-by-sector concern. In additional closely regulated industries like healthcare and insurance coverage, for instance, I feel there will likely be some rising pains as corporations attempt to adjust to laws that won’t have been written with Web3 in thoughts. In distinction, industries with fewer regulatory burdens like attire or luxurious items appear to have had a neater path to Web3.
CT: Are emblems for the Web3 ecosystem costly to file? How a lot do you imagine, on common, corporations are paying to file for Web3-based trademark purposes?
MK: One of many engaging points of emblems is that they don’t seem to be costly to file. Many new Web3 trademark purposes might be professionally ready and filed for lower than $2,000. This makes them a relative discount, particularly when in comparison with the prices of preventing a model dispute with no federal trademark registration.
CT: Do you assume the cryptocurrency bear market has negatively impacted the variety of corporations that filed for emblems within the Web3 ecosystem?
MK: Sure, the difficulties within the cryptocurrency market, coupled with issues a few broader financial downturn, appear to have had a marked influence on the variety of new Web3 trademark purposes. The variety of new trademark filings for the Web3 ecosystem has declined by about 40% over the second half of 2022.
A protracted bear market and present market circumstances exacerbated by the sudden collapse of FTX have taken a toll on your entire ecosystem. Though the enterprise potential of the Web3 ecosystem nonetheless stays monumental, Kondoudis projected that subsequent 12 months could not essentially see progress within the variety of emblems purposes filed for the ecosystem, resulting from numerous elements comparable to a bear market with no estimated finish in sight and a extensively anticipated financial downturn.
CT: Do you count on to see a rise in trademark purposes for the Net 3 area filed subsequent 12 months? Or do you count on issues to decelerate?
MK: We don’t count on to see a rise. We count on to see about the identical variety of filings.
The variety of new Web3 trademark filings has decreased over the second half of this 12 months. This lower seems to be in response to issues about recession, different macroeconomic issues, and the cryptocurrency bear market. Since these issues will probably proceed in 2023, we count on their results to proceed as nicely.
CT: Any related ideas and feedback about emblems filed for the Web3 ecosystem, in addition to your ideas/opinions on blockchain tech just like the metaverse, cryptocurrency and NFTs?
MK: The enterprise potential of the Web3 ecosystem is critical. And, regardless of present headwinds, Web3 goes to proceed to maneuver towards mainstream adoption within the subsequent few years. Manufacturers will want safety on this ecosystem simply as they do within the “actual world” immediately. They’ll additionally want safety as they transition and/or increase into the digital financial system of Web3. That’s why so many corporations have been submitting Web3 trademark purposes.
The preliminary rush to file Web3 trademark purposes appears to have run its course. We at the moment are seeing the mixing of Web3 services into mainstream trademarking methods. Going ahead, I might count on to see NFT, crypto and metaverse services included in trademark purposes together with conventional or “actual world” services.
