Arizona State University (ASU) has dropped hints of a possible entry into the metaverse. The university filed for seven trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in connection with several metaverse-related goods and services.
The trademark filings made on June 7 include the University’s name as well as the name and logo of its sports team—the Sun Devils—for use in “virtual environments in which users can interact for recreational, leisure or entertainment purposes” as well as for educational purposes.
According to trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who first disclosed the filings, ASU has big plans for the metaverse and web3. Among these include classes in a virtual environment, NFTs for videos of sports highlights, and NFTs for event tickets, artwork of campus landmarks, and authentication of documents.
Arizona State University has big plans for the metaverse and Web3.
Per USPTO filings made on June 7th, @ASU plans to offer:
1. NFTs for event tickets and artwork of campus landmarks.
2. NFTs for video of sports highlights.
2. Classes in a "virtual environment."#ASU #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/PPR89Cu4B2
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) June 13, 2022
ASU is considered to be one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the United States, with over 77,000 students enrolled in its 2021 fall semester. This was matched by another over 57,000 attending through its online learning platform.
The massive success of its “digital immersion” learning option may have prompted the move into the metaverse. Previously, Casey Evan, ASU’s senior director of strategic learner and program mobilization, called online learning the future of education and the school’s “best tool to enable students to continue learning during this time of physical separation.”
Metaverse interest coming from all quarters
ASU’s filing shows the massive traction the metaverse—a term used to refer to virtual and augmented reality world’s most commonly built on and powered by blockchain technology—trend is gaining.
The innovation has gotten attention from industries including fashion, retail businesses, food and beverage, sports and entertainment, and even governments. Some notably interested entities include the English Premier League and the government of South Korea.
Bloomberg’s analysis shows that the expanding metaverse ecosystem could also spark growth in other industries, as well as sectors of the digital currency market. Some industries that will likely benefit from the boom include makers of GPUs, VR and AR hardware makers, and development and design software makers.
Similarly, the growth of the metaverse will benefit NFTs and use tokens massively, according to Bloomberg. NFTs are already finding a solid use case for giving users data sovereignty on metaverse platforms.
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