By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 17th, 2024
The Premier League is the top level of professional English football, comprising 20 teams, and is the most-watched professional football league across the globe.
The English Premier League (EPL) looks to be expanding its brand into the metaverse after filing two cryptocurrencies and NFT trademarks before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Licensed trademark attorney Michael Kondoudis reported the Premier League’s entry into the metaverse via his Twitter account on June 6. Kondounis revealed that the applications pertain to the U.S. use of trademarks associated with the league, one focusing on the league’s name and logo of a “lion wearing a crown in three-quarter view,” while the other is centered on a “loving cup trophy” adorned with lions on each handle and a crown on top.
The English Premier League trademark filing was made on June 1, 2022, with the USPTO subsequently confirming that the application had met all the requirements. The trademark filings encompass the creation and selling of digital assets, virtual clothing, cryptocurrency, and media files validated by NFTs, among other things. The use of Premier League trademarks in “virtual, augmented, and mixed reality software” is also covered.
“The Premier League is regularly watched by more than a billion people, so the value attached to the brand is substantial. These filings represent a logical step to protect the brand in today’s economy, which includes virtual and crypto elements, and tomorrow’s virtual economy in the metaverse,” Kondoudis stated.
The Premier League is the top level of professional English football, comprising 20 teams, and the most-watched professional football league across the globe.
The sporting world is gradually embracing NFTs and the metaverse space. The market for NFTs has grown significantly over the years, which has caught the attention of many entities in the world of professional sports. Kondounis highlighted that factor, stating that the number of sports entities getting into the metaverse would likely keep surging, especially in the next 12 months. Koudounis’s statement is evidently by the world’s football governing body, FIFA, filing for a trademark like the English Premier League.
Manchester City, the Premier League winners, have already begun to make inroads in the metaverse. The club is currently using virtual reality (VR) experts from Sony to build the world’s first football stadium in the metaverse.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the current champions of France, also filed trademark applications, covering non-fungible tokens (NFT)-backed multimedia; crypto wallets; managing cryptocurrency transactions; virtual clothing; sports gear; and electronics on March 16, 2022.
The sporting world’s ride to the metaverse includes sports personalities and several professional athletes exploring the NFT space and the metaverse. Kevin Durant, a professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), has filed for 26 NFT and metaverse patents. The application was made with the player’s Venture Capital firm, Thirty-Five Ventures LLC.