A CVS pharmacy filed a trademark application for the purpose of selling “downloadable virtual goods” (DVG) in the metaverse, as it seeks to establish itself as the first pharmacy in this nascent field.
On February 28, the health services provider filed an application under the entertainment and amusement category for prescription drugs, beauty and personal care products, and crypto-collectibles such as NFTs. The application was not made public until Friday after it was filed in the entertainment and amusement category. A trademark attorney by the name of Mike Kondoudis, advises that, in general, it is difficult to say whether there are immediate plans for a company to move into crypto or the metaverse based on just a filing. Specifically, there are two ways to file a trademark, an A and B filing. A1 filing refers to the actual use of the trademark, which is presented to the government as proof of its use. As an alternative, the filing might be a “1B” filing, which indicates that there is an intention to use the product. If a trademark filing is filed under a 1B status, the trademark filing is intended for future use but does not necessarily indicate any immediate plans.
The CVS application has been filed on a 1B basis, and has plans to provide digital and virtual goods, prescription drugs, and health services using augmented and virtual reality.
The CVS Health corporation owns several well-known US-based businesses, including CVS Pharmacy and the insurance provider Aetna. According to last year’s Fortune 500 list, CVS Health was ranked fourth.
In response to a question regarding any immediate plans, the representative stated that they would “continue to explore these and other options for improving the consumer experience and launching new products and services.”
As part of its filing for metaverse-related trademarks, CVS joins big retailers like Nike and Walmart. As of last year, the sneaker company filed seven patent and trademark requests – covering clothing, sports bags, art and accessories.
