Visa, a payments giant, has filed two trademark applications at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The applications are related to NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), digital wallets, and the Metaverse.
A section of one of the applications is about trademarks for software for “management of digital transactions; use as a digital currency wallet and storage services software; use as a cryptocurrency wallet; and managing and verifying cryptocurrency transactions using blockchain technology,” while another one relates to “providing temporary use of non-downloadable software for users to view, access, store, monitor, manage, trade, send, receive, transmit, and exchange digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, digital and blockchain assets, and non-fungible tokens (NFT).”
Other sections of the applications are about “non-downloadable virtual goods” and “a collectible series of non-fungible tokens.” They also talk about “providing virtual environments in which users can interact for recreational, leisure or entertainment purposes accessible in the virtual world.”
An excerpt from one of the applications reads, “Online non-downloadable software for management of digital transactions; non-downloadable virtual goods; non-downloadable virtual goods, namely, a collectible series of non-fungible tokens; online non-downloadable software for use as a digital currency wallet and storage services software; online non-downloadable software for use as a cryptocurrency wallet.”
Visa filed the applications on October 22.
The applications by Visa come after other big firms, including the New York Stock Exchange and American Express, filed the same applications. Last month, Western Union and PayPal filed trademark applications for different cryptocurrency services. Formula One also filed 8 trademark applications last month for “F1” regarding some metaverse and crypto services and products. Ford also filed 19 trademark applications in September. eBay, the e-commerce giant, filed two trademark applications in June, Facebook (Meta) five in May, and Mastercard 15 in April.
Visa also filed a patent application in 2020 for the process of turning the physical fiat currency into a digitized version.
“At Visa, we are continually exploring technologies that might lead to new payment innovations and greater financial inclusion,” said a Visa spokesperson. “Each year we seek patents for hundreds of new ideas. While not all patents will result in new products or features, Visa respects intellectual property and we are actively working to protect our ecosystem, our innovations, and the Visa brand,” the spokesperson added.
Visa has been active in the cryptocurrency industry for many years. It has entered into partnerships with more than 65 cryptocurrency firms, including cryptocurrency exchanges and crypto wallet providers to facilitate cryptocurrency payments at more than 80 million merchants.
In January 2021, Alfred Kelly, the Visa CEO, revealed the company’s plan to add crypto trading on its platform. This was inspired by the belief that cryptocurrency will become extremely mainstream, and Visa stated its readiness to venture into the crypto space in a very big way. Visa launched the crypto advisory service in December 2021.
