• Chinese companies are already pursuing metaverse-related trademarks.
• 1,360 Chinese companies have submitted 8,534 such trademark applications.
• They join global brands such as Nike, Alice + Olivia, Hurley, and Justice in the race.

Companies in China are racing for metaverse-related trademarks despite the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) warning on the dangers of the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) just last month.

While the Chinese central bank has proposed to monitor the metaverse and NFTs, companies such as Tencent and Huawei are pursuing trademarks for the digital universe, or metaverse..

In a race to be first, more than 1,360 Chinese companies have so far submitted 8,534 trademark applications related to the metaverse, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.

The PBOC has warned about the dangers of digital assets, citing these virtual assets have no physical basis, which means they can be used for illegal financial activities.

However, the race is truly on. Nike has been an early-mover with its entrance into the metaverse, partnering with Roblox back in 2019, and with trademark filings of the Swoosh logo.

Other companies have been filing applications for their name and logos to be trademarked on an intent-to-use basis for its word mark in the metaverse including Alice + Olivia, Hurley, Justice, BB Brand Holdings-owned companies Tahari, Nanette Lepore, Catherine Malandrino, Bebe, and Limited Too, among others.

The metaverse was catapulted into the mainstream lexicon in October when social media giant Facebook said it was changing its corporate name to Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB) to reflect its focus on the digital universe.