In a tweet today, NFT trademark attorney Michael Kondoudis revealed that The Prudential Insurance Company of America has filed ten new trademark applications to register:

(1) The name PRUDENTIAL

(2) Its "THE ROCK" slogan

(3) The Acronym PRU

(4) The Acronym PGIM

(3) Its "Rock of Gibraltar" logo

The applications were submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on June 2, 2022, and signal plans by the Insurance and finance giant to expand its service offerings into:

• Financial transaction services involving cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and blockchain technology

• Providing financial information in the fields of decentralized finance (DeFi), digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, digital and blockchain assets, digitized assets, digital tokens, crypto tokens, non-fungible tokens, and utility tokens

• Retail store services featuring virtual services, namely, insurance and financial services for use in the metaverse, online environments, virtual environments, extended reality, and other virtual worlds

• Entertainment and education services, namely, providing on-line, non-downloadable virtual insurance and financial services for use in the metaverse, virtual environments, and other virtual worlds created for entertainment and education purposes

"Prudential is a leading insurance and financial brand, and the value attached to the brand is significant," Mr. Kondoudis says. "These filings are the next logical step to protect the Prudential brand as it enters the Metaverse."

"Clearly, Prudential sees the potential of the Metaverse and is preparing its trademarks and brand for the virtual economy that will dominate it," Mr. Kondoudis opined. "It is a safe bet that Prudential expects to be a major player in that virtual economy."

This year, American Express, Mastercard, and Capital One have filed analogous trademark applications.

Mr. Kondoudis adds that "perhaps the most interesting aspect of these applications is that they appear to continue a recent trend of NFT and Metaverse trademark filings from the financial services and insurance sectors."

"We expect the number of trademark filings for NFT and virtual products and services from the financial services and insurance sectors to increase in the next 12 months as brands come to appreciate the need for protection in the Metaverse," Mr. Kondoudis concluded.

Michael Kondoudis is a Washington DC-based trademark lawyer who tracks Metaverse and NFT trademark filings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Kondoudis does not represent The Prudential Insurance Company.

https://www.mekiplaw.com/nft-trademark-attorney/

Links to the applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The Rock of Gibraltar Logo

• http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97441136&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch
• http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97441113&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch

THE ROCK

• http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97440190&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch
• http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97440155&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch

PGIM

• http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97440110&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch
• http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97440079&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch

PRU

• http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97440021&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch
• http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97439967&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch

PRUDENTIAL

• http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97439843&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch
• http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97439802&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch