Mike Kondoudis, an expert in trademark law, tweeted that Fender, one of the best established guitar makers in the world, has filed three NFT-related trademark applications. The content of the filings suggests that Fender could be planning to sell NFTs and “other crypto-collectibles,” as well as launch some sort of metaverse presence.
A trademark application does not oblige the owner to create an actual collection, and Fender itself has released no official communication on the matter. However, the documents uncovered by Kondoudis suggest that the NFTs could be based on Fender’s classic headstock shape favored by rock’n’roll legends like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Bruce Springsteen.
If the company does plug its guitars into the blockchain, fans could see a collection of “digital artwork, photographs, videos, and audio recordings,” which suggests that Fender’s NFT experiment could focus in equal parts on Fender’s musical and visual legacy. It could also mean that no specific plans have yet been made, and the company seeks to ensure exclusive rights to the headstock shape just in case.
Fender’s filings, which were submitted in late April, join a growing wave of NFT-related trademark applications. During the first four months of 2022, over a dozen times more companies filed an NFT trademark application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office compared with 2021.
