Iconic American restaurant chain McDonald’s looks like it is preparing to make a move into the metaverse by registering for 10 trademarks in the virtual space.
Josh Gerben, trademark attorney and founder of Gerben Intellectual Property, tweeted on Wednesday that McDonald’s submitted a trademark application on Friday, including plans for “a virtual restaurant featuring actual and virtual goods” and “operating a virtual restaurant featuring home delivery.”
Based on the application, the restaurant chain will be able to provide “downloadable multimedia files” for artwork, audio and video files, and nonfungible tokens (NFT).
McDonald’s Included Its McCafe Brand In The Metaverse
McDonald’s also included its McCafe brand in the metaverse trademark application. The brand would be ready to offer entertainment services “namely, providing online actual and virtual concerts and other virtual events.”
McDonald’s would be competing against other emerging virtual concert organizers such as Animal Concerts. Such concerts eliminate geographical barriers that have prevented fans from seeing their favorite acts perform and also vastly reduce the cost of touring.
The golden arches join bakery and cafe chain Panera Bread in an effort to move its brand into the metaverse. Panera Bread submitted a similar trademark application on Feb. 3 for a virtual restaurant and cafe chain called Paneraverse.
Its plans also include downloadable content, NFTs, virtual food and beverage items, and virtual facilities where users can congregate.
Gerben told Forbes on Wednesday, “I think you’re going to see every brand that you can think of making these filings within the next 12 months,” adding:
“I don’t think anyone wants to be the next Blockbuster and just completely ignore a new technology that’s coming.”
