Shalini Nagarajan

With digital assets on the upswing once more, businesses across the board have been locking down blockchain-related patents anew.&nbsp;



Filings for US — and international — patents or trademarks related to cryptocurrency sectors, including <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/blockchain">blockchain</a> initiatives and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/nft">NFT</a> enterprises, are one main means for <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/fico-blockchain-usage-patented">companies to secure related intellectual property</a>. And potentially gain a competitive advantage in the meantime.&nbsp;



As mainstream tech giants, including <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/amazon">Amazon</a>, hop on the NFT bandwagon, the industry has been parsing the possibility of a spring-to-summer surge in exclusive access to events and collections. 



That could turn passive customers into active players, according to Gökçe Güven, CEO of Web3 tooling platform Kalder. The goal of ratcheting up engagement and branding loyalty could apply to both individual NFT creators and big brands.&nbsp;



“Blockchains and blockchain-based systems are poised to unlock a wide variety of use cases that we probably haven’t even thought of yet,” Güven told Blockworks. “But those use cases need to be structured in a way that incentivizes the individual creator to participate, and this includes legal and regulatory systems.”



While crypto initiatives continue to develop broadly, patents and tradements are on the rise in terms of enforcing the verification that NFTs inherently provide on the blockchains they’re based on, according to Nihar Neelakanti, the chief executive of carbon-backed NFT maker Ecosapiens.&nbsp;



“Trademarks and NFTs are like Cinderella and the magic slipper – a natural fit,” Neelakanti said.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
Added Neelakanti: “NFTs and other digital assets are the best technology to verify identity anywhere on the web and through any transaction, and in that sense, a trademark enhances and enforces the technical protection an NFT may provide through a legal framework.”
</blockquote>



Here’s a snapshot of five businesses with brand recognition that have recently filed patents for Web3 offerings. Companies often file for patents with no expectation of employing a product in the immediate future.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Haribo&nbsp;</h2>



German candy maker Haribo has taken a leap into the world of NFTs.&nbsp;



The gummy bear maker registered an NFT-related trademark <a href="https://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn79336702&amp;docId=ORC20230410174534#docIndex=0&amp;page=1">application</a> with the US Patent and Trademark Office on April 25. The company filed for a number of applications related to “digital collectibles in the nature of downloadable multimedia files.”&nbsp;



Those sectors, per the filing, include “downloadable audio and video recordings, digital avatars and cartoons relating to confectionery.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FICO&nbsp;</h2>



Global analytics software firm <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/fico-blockchain-usage-patented">FICO recently hit a patent jackpot</a>. Not only was it awarded 12 patents, but its use of blockchain for data and model governance was also patented.



FICO, the company behind its popular FICO Credit Score product, has long been a resource used by lenders to assess people’s creditworthiness and decide whether they are suitable for loans or credit cards.



Scott Zelda, the company’s chief analytics officer, has said that blockchain technology has practical value-adds in terms of AI, analytic governance and conducting audits.



FICO’s new patent is all about keeping track of how machine learning models are created, used and monitored. It’s using a “shared ledger.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fujitsu</h2>



In March, Japanese electronic giant Fujitsu <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/fujitsu-files-trademark-crypto">filed a trademark application</a> covering scores of services, including crypto trading.&nbsp;



The filing for Fujitsu made possible the company’s ambitions to dive into everything from money exchange to digital asset management — on top of brokerage services for crypto.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fidelity Investments</h2>



Boston-based investment management firm <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/fidelity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fidelity</a> Investments broke new ground by filing trademark applications in December that indicated <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/fidelity-trademarks-hint-at-big-banks-vying-for-metaverse-customers">plans to service customers in a virtual world</a> powered by digital currencies. 



Three patent applications showed Fidelity’s plans to explore marketing, placements, recruiting and referral services for investment and financial planning in the metaverse. It was also looking into creating an NFT marketplace where one can buy, sell and trade digital goodies.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/fidelity-doubles-down-metaverse">Fidelity Doubles Down on Metaverse With Financial Literacy Experience</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Formula One</h2>



In the fourth quarter of 2022, auto racing league Formula One <a href="https://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn97620234&amp;docId=APP20221008081326#docIndex=2&amp;page=1">filed</a> a number of crypto-related trademarks for its “F1” abbreviation, changing from NFTs to retail stores for virtual goods.



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These 5 Companies Have Filed Web3 or NFT Patents

Bessie Liu

<div id="highlights-block_6358312e18d07" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Recent trademark filings could imply that Western Union wants to launch its own virtual currency exchange and cryptocurrency token</li>
 <li>The financial services company has plans to expand offerings into managing and administering digital assets</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Western Union has filed crypto-related trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis <a href="https://twitter.com/KondoudisLaw/status/1584882175127613440" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>.&nbsp;



The <a href="https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97641182&amp;caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&amp;caseType=SERIAL_NO&amp;searchType=statusSearch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">applications</a> made by Western Union imply that the company intends to launch its very own virtual currency exchange and cryptocurrency token. The financial services company also has plans to expand into managing and administering digital assets.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WesternUnion?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WesternUnion</a> has filed 3 trademark applications claiming plans for ▶️ Financial + Banking + Insurance ▶️ Virtual currency exchange + transfer ▶️ Commodity and Crypto trading + brokerage ▶️ Issuing tokens of value …and much more<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Web3?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Web3</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Metaverse?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Metaverse</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cryptocurrency?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cryptocurrency</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeFi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DeFi</a> <a href="https://t.co/YvKysvj3mq">pic.twitter.com/YvKysvj3mq</a>&mdash; Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) <a href="https://twitter.com/KondoudisLaw/status/1584882175127613440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Until now, Western Union has been relatively cautious about entering blockchain technology.&nbsp;



In December 2018, former Western Union Global Money Transfer President Odilon Almeida <a href="https://www.westernunion.com/blog/en/blockchain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> adding cryptocurrencies as a customer option would be a big reach, as digital assets had not yet mastered governance, compliance and volatility and received global acceptance.



Added Almeida: “Cryptocurrency might become one more option for a way for assets to be exchanged between people and countries. If that happens, we would be ready to launch.”



It seems that now, four years later, the growing adoption of blockchain technology — alongside the increased competition in the international money transfer space — has finally pushed the financial services giant to tap crypto markets.&nbsp;



Earlier this year, centralized crypto exchange Coinbase had <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-launches-crypto-remittance-pilot-for-mexico/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">begun trialing</a> a remittance program for recipients in Mexico, challenging the market dominated by Western Union.&nbsp;



Coinbase claimed its services were <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-launches-crypto-remittance-pilot-for-mexico/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">significantly</a> cheaper than traditional cross-border payments and was looking to expand its services globally to the world’s 1.7 billion underbanked.



Even so, Western Union remains one of the <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/09/2438800/0/en/39-8-Billion-Global-Digital-Remittance-Market-Size-Share-Forecast-by-2028-Market-is-Fueled-by-Rising-Banking-Financial-Services-and-Insurance-Globally-Historic-Data-Industry-Emergi.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biggest players </a>in the global remittance industry, and Almeida has held onto the belief that “[Western Union is] better positioned to benefit from the crypto-currency movement in the long-term than any start-up.”



“Western Union is already better equipped to solve for such variables because it already moves money across 130 currencies and devotes substantial resources to all of those three challenges,” he said.



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Western Union Trademark Filings Signal Crypto, Web3 Exploration

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_613a6c1ce2a49" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Roughly 70% of Salvadorans do not have traditional financial services like bank accounts, resulting in 24% of the country’s gross domestic product to come from remittances </li>
 <li>President Nayib Bukele said that bitcoin could save Salvadorans $400 million per year in remittance fees</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



El Salvador became the first country to <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/el-salvador-buys-550-bitcoins-officially-adopts-the-crypto-as-legal-tender/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">officially adopt bitcoin as a legal tender</a> on Tuesday. Residents can use the digital asset to pay their taxes, rent or a simple cup of coffee.



However, with unprecedented adoption comes criticism from vendors who are required to accept payment in bitcoin. Additionally, concerns stem from Salvadorans who believe the digital currency may be too volatile and can’t support their economy, which heavily relies on remittances.



Roughly 70% of Salvadorans do not have traditional financial services like bank accounts, resulting in 24% of the country’s gross domestic product to come from remittances. With an average minimum wage of roughly <a href="https://elsalvadorinfo.net/minimum-wage-in-el-salvador/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$1.50 an hour</a>, <a href="https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Remittance-Recipients-in-El-Salvador-A-Socioeconomic-Profile.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">94% of recipient household</a>s use wire transfers towards everyday necessities like food.



Residents often receive funds from money services providers like <a href="https://www.westernunion.com/content/dam/wu/EU/EN/feeTableRetailEN-ES.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Western Union</a> which can have fees of 30% per transfer depending on the sum being sent, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/09/el-salvador-bitcoin-move-could-cost-western-union-400-million-a-year.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported.</a> President Nayib Bukele said this is one reason why he advocated for bitcoin’s adoption in the first place. Digital wallet, Chivo, allows Salvadorans (living at home or abroad) the chance for free cross-border payments instead.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Bukele has said that these innovations will save Salvadorans $400 million annually in remittance fees.&nbsp;



“Decentralized finance will work in the best interests of those who rely upon remittances and are unduly burdened by the high commissions associated with sending money home, as these would be eliminated by cryptocurrency,” Edan Yago, contributor to DeFi protocol Sovryn, said in a email statement to Blockworks. &#8220;While human beings are naturally averse to the unknown, El Salvador has taken measures to reduce uncertainty, decrease the crypto currency&#8217;s volatility, and incentivize its use.”



Traditional financial institutions like Western Union and MoneyGram who make profit off of these transfers could be in for some trouble, potentially costing them the hundreds of millions that come from Salvadoran remittance fees.



“Anything that charges fees for any type of payment, it doesn&#8217;t have to be remittances, is going to be impacted [by bitcoin],” Validus Power Corp’s Greg Foss said, including merchant services like Visa. “[Companies] better adapt. Creative destruction is necessary for capitalism.”



However, in recent years, companies like Strike, founded by Jack Maller, have begun offering payment services that those who have historically dominated the remittance market have not.&nbsp;



Strike, which is built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, allows users to send money anywhere in the world for free. (The Lightning Network can significantly cut down the fees and time it takes to send bitcoin, settling transactions via a network of user-hosted nodes and channels.)



“People will gravitate to the lowest cost alternative. It’s that simple,” Foss said.



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