Nissan files 4 new web3 brands, tries sales in the metaverse
Japanese automaker Nissan has become the latest automaker to step up its Web3 efforts, filing four new Web3-related trademarks registered in the US as its Japan unit experiments with car sales in the metaverse.
According to Nissan’s March 7 trademark filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the new registrations cover its Infiniti, Nismo and Nissan brands.
The USPTO filings reveal Nissan’s plans to create virtual clothes, cars, headgear, trading cards, toys, tickets, and an NFT marketplace for trading and coining NFTs.
The company has also outlined plans for metaverse advertising services and other “entertainment” services covering online video, images, artwork, tickets, audio, sounds, music and trading cards, along with a website detailing all about Nissan’s proposed NFTs and how they will work.
There are also intentions for “non-downloadable computer software for use as a digital wallet,” according to the filing.
Test drive a Nissan in the metaverse
Last week on March 8, Nissan Japan announced it is conducting a three-month “demonstration experiment” of its virtual store “Nissan Hype Lab” to “study, consult, test drive and purchase Nissan vehicles,” while in the metaverse.
“At the same time, we will investigate the possibility of new sales methods for cars,” it says in a statement.
The trial, which runs from March 8 to June 30, will allow customers to visit the virtual store front “24 hours a day” via a PC or smartphone. Customers can create their own custom avatars and can even interact with virtual salespeople between specific hours.
Customers can order the car and complete purchase contracts through this virtual sales office, according to the announcement.
Nissan too earlier filed five trademark applications in October 2022 for some of its more prominent car models, including the SKYLINE, Z and GTR.
At the time, trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis said the car brand’s filings signaled plans for NFT-backed media, online NFT marketplaces, digital wallets, NFT mining, trading and storage software.
Related: Keep an eye out for trademark registrations from the big company NFT this year
Auto giant General Motors has also been very active with NFT-related filings, with its latest trademark filings on February 16 covering the Chevrolet and Cadillac brands.
US automaker Ford Motor Company prepared its entry into the NFT world and Metaverse last September, filing 19 trademark applications across its major car brands.
Despite the ongoing crypto winter and bear market, multinationals are still pushing ahead with trademark applications covering Web3, crypto, non-fungible tokens (NFT) and the Metaverse.
Kondoudis said there were a record number of trademark applications for NFTs, Metaverse and crypto-related products in 2022.
