U.S. NFT and Blockchain Trademark Filings Surge in 2022

• The number of NFT-related trademark applications in the U.S. has already tripled that of 2021.
• NFT trademark filings peaked in March and have subsequently declined in every month.
• NFT interest among retail investors remains low.

Compared to all of 2021, the number of U.S. trademark applications for NFTs and other blockchain products has nearly quadrupled in 2022.

According to information gathered by trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), 6,366 such trademarks have been filed by the end of September 2022. There were only 2,142 trademark applications relating to NFTs in 2021.

This figure for 2021 is almost three times lower than the figure for the first nine months of 2022. March 2022 was the most fruitful month of the year, with 1,080 new NFT trademarks being filed.

Since then, the monthly total has been steadily decreasing, with September seeing the lowest total, 435, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Although trademark registrations relating to NFTs have decreased month-over-month, March had more submissions than all of 2021 combined. This year’s trademark applicants include big names like McDonald’s, Crocs, CVS, and even television personality Dr. Oz.

According to a survey conducted earlier this year, the major reason most consumers buy NFTs is “to make money.” In fact, 64.3% of the 1,318 people surveyed cited this as the key factor in making their decision to adopt NFT.

However, retail investor enthusiasm for NFTs remains low, with Q3 2022 seeing a 60% drop in NFT sales on OpenSea, the largest marketplace for digital collectibles. Earlier in August, statistics showed that Q2 NFT transaction activity had dropped by 40% as interest in digital collectibles waned.