CNBC Discusses Walmart’s Metaverse Trademarks with Josh Gerben

Recent trademark filings from Walmart indicate that the retail giant is entering the metaverse with plans to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of NFTs.

CNBC and Josh Gerben break down Walmart’s metaverse trademark filings and discuss how more and more businesses are protecting their brands in the virtual space.

“They’re super intense,” said Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney. “There’s a lot of language in these, which shows that there’s a lot of planning going on behind the scenes about how they’re going to address cryptocurrency, how they’re going to address the metaverse and the virtual world that appears to be coming or that’s already here.”

Gerben said that ever since Facebook announced it was changing its company name to Meta, signaling its ambitions beyond social media, businesses have been rushing to figure out how they will fit into a virtual world.

“All of a sudden, everyone is like, ‘This is becoming super real and we need to make sure our IP is protected in the space,'” said Gerben.

Gerben said that as more consumers familiarize themselves with the metaverse and the items stored on the blockchain, more retailers will want to create their own ecosystem around it.

Source: Thomas, Lauren. https://www.cnbc.com. “Walmart is quietly preparing to enter the metaverse.” 16 January 2022.