Downloadable Artwork
American car manufacturer Ford Motor Company is preparing for life in the Metaverse with its own offering of virtual automobiles and NFTs. According to a tweet from 7th September by Mike Kondoudis, a USPTO licensed trademark attorney, Ford has “already filed 19 trademark applications across its major car brands”, including Mustang, Bronco, Lincoln, Explorer, F-150 Lightning, and others. In USPTO documents filed by Ford on 2nd September, the Dearborn, Michigan-based car manufacturer is planning to create downloadable artwork, text, audio and video featuring its cars, SUVs, trucks and vans — all these will be authenticated by NFTs.
The trademark applications cover virtual cars, trucks, vans, SUVs and clothing for its brands and also cover a proposed online marketplace for NFTs.
Not The First
Ford, however, is not the first car manufacturer to get its feet wet in the Metaverse, with the Far East’s Nissan, Toyota and Hyundai having already announced plans to expand their business in the Metaverse. Luxury car brands Bentley, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, as well as Lamborghini, owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi, have already issued their own NFT collections.
Ford has also disclosed plans for “downloadable virtual goods,” namely “computer programs” featuring vehicle parts and accessories and clothing for use in “online virtual worlds,” including online trade shows conducted in virtual reality and augmented reality, while another reported plan is to build a marketplace to promote the “digital artwork of others” through a website, along with “online retail store services featuring non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital collectibles.”
The news comes after Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Farley announced in August the company was cutting 3,000 jobs in a bid to lower costs.
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