Luxury Luggage Brand Hermes Files for Crypto, NFT and Metaverse Trademarks

After Hermes sued NFT project MetaBirkins for allegedly using its brand to sell digital collectables in December last year, the luxury brand giant has joined other top fashion companies in a quest to gain a foothold in the virtual world.

Patent attorney Mike Kondoudis wrote that Hermès filed a trademark application for cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and the Metaverse with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on August 26.

The company filed a trademark application for “retail store services featuring virtual goods,” as well as fashion and trade shows in “online virtual, augmented or mixed reality environments,” and “an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of virtual goods.” the patent covers metaverse, crypto and NFT-related products and tokens.

Hermès also plans to host fashion shows, trade fairs and exhibitions, guided tours and games in virtual, augmented or mixed reality.

On April 22, Axel Dumas, chairman of the executive board of Hermès, said at the recent annual general meeting of shareholders that although the group will still focus on the inheritance of handicrafts, it will consider using “Metaverse” for communication and publicity in the future. “We are curious and interested in the metaverse,” he said, adding that it could be a good communication tool.

Leading Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has already sold a nine-piece collection of fashion NFTs dubbed Collezione Genesi or the Genesis Collection for a whopping $6 million.

Several other luxury or jewellery brands have released their branded NFT collections.

Last month, passes for physical copies of Tiffany & Co.’s debut 250 NFTs were sold out in about 20 minutes for 30 ether (ETH) each or about $50,000.

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