High-end fashion brands rush to collar trade marks in metaverse

Big fashion names including Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger are rushing to protect their valuable brands in the burgeoning “metaverse” fashion market, according to trade mark filings.

More than 2,100 trademarks for virtual clothing and stores have been registered over the past year, up 35 per cent on the previous 12 months, according to intellectual property (IP) law firm Mathys & Squire.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley believe the digital clothing or “metafashion’” market could be worth $50 billion (£40bn) by 2030, and last month saw the first Metaverse Fashion Week take place.

In the metaverse, consumers can try on clothes virtually before buying them, either in real life or digitally. These virtual versions of fashion items are often in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Mathys & Squire says brands are taking action to protect their digital brands just as they would physical goods, given the enormous growth potential and huge revenues at stake.

The firm says these NFTs can be created cheaply, making it easier for clothing brands’ designs to be exploited by copycats. This has led to a number of high-profile legal cases between brands over alleged IP infringement.

It cited an example involving French design house Hermès, which is currently involved in a dispute with an American artist over a collection of 100 virtual designs inspired by its Birkin bags. The artist had previously sold a one-off NFT “Baby Birkin” for more than twice the price the French brand charges for a physical Baby Birkin bag.