Leisure footwear company Crocs, Inc. filed a trademark application on Jan. 11 that would expand its brand into the realm of NFTs.
Non-fungible tokens of Crocs “footwear, clothing, bags, accessories and charms for decorating” them would all be covered, public filings show. So too would software for sending, receiving and trading these digital assets, as would an online store for selling them, the USPTO application said.
The filing is a strong sign that Crocs is preparing to issue NFTs, one well-known crypto-intellectual property lawyer told CoinDesk. Its counsel, WilmerHale, filed on an “intent-to-use” basis, meaning the brand has a genuine intention to use it in commerce.
Crocs is hardly the only shoe brand moving into digital wearables: Nike, Adidas and Under Armour have all made footwear NFT plays in recent months. Their drops generated millions of dollars of revenue from consumers eager to flout their digital kicks in platforms like The Sandbox and Decentraland.
NFTs could spell a lucrative new business for publicly-traded Crocs, which had a banner 2021 posting 67% revenue growth year-over-year. Executives spoke of the company’s digital-first focus in its Jan. 11 earnings call but made no mention of the metaverse.
A representative for the company did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Neither did its lawyers.
