The “Metaverse food” case was reviewed by the Board of Appeal of EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office), which ultimately rejected the trademark application.
The term “Metaverse food” was intended for use with medical products, services and digital assets such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The board came to the conclusion that the sign is inappropriate to use as a source indication since it makes reference to the metaverse. The conclusion was that the relevant public will interpret METAVERSE FOOD as a hint that food and pharmaceuticals, vitamin preparations, or food supplements can be purchased in a virtual space, information that lacks any distinctive character. The EUIPO has registered several trademarks containing the term METAVERSE, however, the Board of Appeal stated that the Office had no uniform practice in this regard.
This decision underscores the importance of clear and distinct origin indications in trademarks, even in innovative sectors like virtual environments and digital assets. The ruling reflects the challenges of adapting traditional trademark principles to emerging technologies and industries.
Once registered as EUTM the trade mark gains protection on the territory of all member states of EU (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK).
