Advances in technology have taken the world by storm in recent years and brand owners must adapt to new forms of expression and brand awareness. Enter the metaverse: an online virtual world where users can interact with each other and digital objects including Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). NFTs are unique digital assets depicting works of art, photographs, text, and/or other digital content, minted using blockchain to identify an interest in a certain asset. Many companies are using NFTs to leverage their brands, which in turn create new revenue channels.

Here we provide a list of suggestions for navigating brand protection in the metaverse:

1. Develop policies and procedures that address advancing technologies including the metaverse, AI and NFTs.
2. Create a collection of NFTs that allows users to interact with your brand.

But first:

3. Audit your brand to determine vulnerable areas of IP and whether new copyright, trademark or design patent filings are necessary to ensure brand protection in both the physical and virtual world.
4. File trademark and design patent applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office to register your brand for digital goods and services, and your distinctive designs where appropriate.
5. File applications with the US Copyright Office to register the copyrights in text and visual content, including your logos.
6. Review current licenses to determine how new technologies could be interpreted and revise license agreements accordingly.
7. Extend brand monitoring with watching services or brand protection providers who help identify issues in the metaverse.
8. Task an internal team to keep up to date on advancing technologies and to provide strategies on the metaverse, AI and NFTs.
9. Engage with new and existing customers by creating interactive and immersive experiences in the metaverse.
10. Hire an IP attorney to provide a holistic IP enforcement strategy that considers advancements in technology .