Luxury brand Hermès is reportedly putting in the foundation effort to prepare for its Web3 presence, following the filing of a trademark application covering NFTs, crypto and the Metaverse. 

Specifically, as revealed via an Aug. 26 filing to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the scope of the trademark will reportedly include downloadable software to view, store and manage virtual goods, digital collectibles, cryptocurrencies and NFTs “for use in online worlds.”

It further submitted the filing for trademarks for “retail store services featuring virtual goods”, together with fashion and trade shows in “online virtual, augmented or mixed reality environments” and for “providing an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of virtual goods.”

The new trademark application reportedly surfaces months following a lawsuit against Metabirkins founder Mason Rothschild in January, with charges against using the brand’s Birkin name to earn profit from sales and resales for his NFT Metabirkins collection.

As detailed via a 47-page legal complaint against Rothschild, Hermès alleged that the “MetaBirkins brand simply rips off Hermès’ famous Birkin bag trademark by adding the generic prefix ‘meta’ to the famous trademark Birkin,” thereby creating the illusion that the MetaBirkins brand was a part of the luxury Hermès’ Birkin brand.

The lawsuit against Rothschild could reportedly be among the driving factors leading to the firm’s decision to file its own protections that will cover the Metaverse, crypto and NFT-related products and tokens.

The luxury brand is not the first or the likely last to establish a presence in the Metaverse.

In early 2022, Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week, a four-day digital fashion event with the appearance of wearables on virtual runways, saw the emergence of luxury brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, Tommy Hilfiger, Estée Lauder and Elie Saab.