Is McDonald's Joining the Metaverse? Trademark Application for a Virtual Restaurant Spotted

The fast-food chain company McDonald's was recently spotted submitting trademark applications for virtual goods and services. This led to speculations that the American restaurant is joining the metaverse.

Trademark attorney and founder of Gerben Intellectual Property, Josh Gerben, tweeted this exciting development on Wednesday, Feb 9. He emphasized that McDonald's filed "10 trademark applications indicating it plans to offer 'a virtual restaurant featuring actual and virtual goods.'"

McDonald's in the Metaverse: Virtual Restaurants and NFTs

According to the tweet, McDonald's filed their trademark applications on Friday, Feb 4, specifying international trademark classes for the following services:

• IC 009: Virtual food and beverage products. Downloadable multimedia files containing artwork, text, audio and video files, and non-fungible tokens.
• IC 035: Online retail services featuring virtual goods.
• IC 041: Entertainment services, namely, providing online actual and virtual concerts and other virtual events.
• IC 043: Operating a virtual restaurant featuring actual and virtual goods and operating an online restaurant featuring home delivery.

McDonald's NFT and Other Virtual Goods

Cointelegraph further explained the nuance of each application. They pointed out all submissions featured virtual goods which could be linked up to the metaverse.

First, the application mentioned "downloadable multimedia file," which is linked to NFT. This implies services that can be traded and bought through cryptocurrency.

Second, they mentioned "online retail service," which features their brand name "McDonald's." The tweet also included the "McCafe" brand, which might be an extension to the main company.

Third, they mentioned "entertainment services," which sparked a lot of speculation from fans. Since the application said "virtual concerts and other virtual events," this implies that the company plans to be a virtual destination for concerts. McDonald's will compete with other virtual concert organizers like Animal Concerts if the speculation proves true.

Lastly, they mentioned "operating a virtual restaurant online featuring home delivery," implying active participation in the metaverse. This also means digital avatars can buy virtual goods and even look forward to "home delivery" services.

McDonald's Virtual Restaurant, Will It Get Approved?

Forbes interviewed Gerben about the application he posted on Twitter. Gerben replied that U.S. Patent and Trademark Office would take eight to nine months to review the application. After the long wait, Gerben believes that McDonald's will have no trouble getting their trademarks approved. He associated it with the fact that the metaverse is rapidly growing.

Gerben said, "I think you're going to see every brand that you can think of make these filings within the next 12 months. I don't think anyone wants to be the next Blockbuster and just completely ignore a new technology that's coming."

The situation is still progressing, and McDonald's application is yet to be approved. So fans are recommended to watch out for further updates, which can drop later this year.