Global cosmetic giant L’Oréal could be venturing into the virtual goods economy, according to Feb. 10 trademark filings in the non-fungible token (NFT) and metaverse categories.
The filings themselves are in the names of L’Oréal’s subsidiaries, including makeup and cosmetic companies Kiehl’s, Maybelline, Pureology, Urban Decay and Redken, among others.
The Kiehl’s filing includes rights to “non-downloadable virtual perfumery,” along with “hair care preparations and cosmetic body care preparations in a virtual environment including a metaverse.”
In eight of the filings, L’Oréal stakes claim to “providing a metaverse for people to browse, accumulate, buy, sell and trade virtual cosmetics.”
L’Oréal did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment on its filings by the time of publication.
The company’s initial foray into NFTs came back in December, when it released a collection of seven NFTs focused on female artists and their empowerment. The collection was ultimately a flop, however, seeing less than 0.5 ETH (around $1,550) in sales volume to date.
While the concept of virtual perfume in a metaverse environment may be difficult to grasp, filing a trademark for such things is no longer unusual.
Companies ranging from McDonald’s to Walmart have recently filed for NFT-related trademarks, as have celebrities including Logan Paul, Bronny James and the late Kobe Bryant.
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Eli is a news reporter for CoinDesk. He owns BTC, ETH and SOL.
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