As more companies research ways to grow their brands in the metaverse, they uncover options that only science-fiction writers and futurists have discussed in previous decades. The term “metaverse” doesn’t have a precise meaning. As Eric Ravenscraft writes in Wired, “Mentally replace the phrase ‘the metaverse’ in a sentence with ‘cyberspace.’ Ninety percent of the time, the meaning won’t substantially change.
Metaverse technology is very young, so theorizing about its future uses is similar to people in the 1970s talking about how the internet would evolve. You can make some educated guesses, but you won’t find many concrete answers.
Some uses of the metaverse have already surprised early adopters eager to finally do something more substantial with their virtual reality goggles. While it’s relatively easy to imagine how the metaverse will make video games more immersive and reduce the amount of long-distance travel required to hold “in-person” meetings, other concepts still feel a bit odd.
Which might have you wondering why CVS, the pharmacy and convenience store, recently filed four trademarks clearly aimed at securing its brand in the metaverse.
The Metaverse Could Bring Healthcare Closer to Everyone
CVS has spent several years improving its reputation as a health company. For example, it banned tobacco products in 2014. From the company’s perspective, selling cigarettes and other tobacco products clashed with its new focus on health.
What does the health industry have to do with virtual meeting spaces where physical bodies don’t exist? It starts to make more sense when you consider that 25% of rural Americans say that they don’t have access to reliable healthcare in their communities. It isn’t just a rural problem, either. 18% of people in urban areas and 9% of people in suburbs have similar complaints.
While today’s version of the metaverse cannot directly treat patients, it can make it much easier for people to access basic healthcare and health advice. Someone who lives two hours from the nearest pharmacy could walk into a metaverse CVS to talk to a pharmacist.
Depending on the preferred treatment, CVS might even have the option to ship medications to patients. You walk into a virtual store and real prescription or over-the-counter drugs arrive at your home within a few days.
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What Did CVS Trademark?
The trademarks filed by CBS were in the entertainment and amusement category. That might seem like an odd way to trademark products that tend to fall under the health, wellness, and beauty categories. Then again, we’re not talking about physical products. These are digital versions of products, which could presumably include anything from prescription drugs to shampoo.
CVS Health’s strategy becomes more obvious when you think about its metaverse trademarks from this perspective. The company does not need to trademark existing products that sit on pharmacy and store shelves. Those items already have the appropriate intellectual property protections.
CVS Health wants to ensure that it has a reliable way to connect with customers and patients in the metaverse.
Trademarking digital products will make it harder for fraudulent metaverse stores to copy CVS Health’s products and services. Without these trademarks, fake pharmacies or competitors could take advantage of CVS Health’s branding.
A court would likely rule that non-CVS stores would need to stop profiting from CVS’s brand. The legal battles could take years, though, especially given how recently the technology has become accessible to consumers. By filing trademarks now, CVS establishes protections that will either prevent fraud or make lawsuits much easier to win.
It’s important to recognize that CVS Health’s trademark filings only apply to digital products that it will sell in the metaverse. At this point, no one knows how laws will impact commerce that takes place in the metaverse.
CVS Health is playing it safe while also drawing attention to itself as a health brand willing to take advantage of cutting-edge technologies.
How Did CVS Health Investors Respond to the Trademark Filings?
Changes in stock price often provide some insight into whether investors approve of a company’s action. From that perspective, it doesn’t look like many investors paid much attention to the metaverse trademark filings from CVS Health.
From February 14 to March 14, CXVS stock has stayed between $100 and $105.19. The stock price actually fell slightly on February 28, the day of filing, and March 1. Then, it jumped a couple of dollars before dipping back to about $102.
Why didn’t investors respond more aggressively?
Probably because the filing doesn’t have an immediate effect on CVS Health’s performance. It shows that CVS has strategies for growing its brand in the future, but it doesn’t have a direct influence on today’s revenues, spending, and profits.
Overall, though, investors have approved of CVS Health’s decisions throughout the pandemic. Like most stocks, CVS Health lost a lot of value during March 2020. Since then, it has followed a rather steady upward course that peaked at $109.27 on January 28, 2022.
This is the second-highest peak of the company’s stock history. On July 31, 2015, the price reached $112.47. While investors did not have a strong response to CVS’s plans for the metaverse, people seem certain that the health company can sustain its profitability and growth as technology changes.
Is CVS Opening Stores in the Metaverse?
It looks like CVS Health plans to open health clinics in the metaverse at some point. So far, that has not happened.
Currently, the metaverse is a loose connection of virtual reality and augmented reality sectors where users can interact with each other. It hosts several video games and a handful of meeting places. It’s still in its early stage of development, though, so most applications are theoretical.
No, CVS has not opened any stores or clinics in the metaverse. At the moment, it’s impossible to determine whether building destinations in the metaverse will even appeal to many consumers. It assumes that people would prefer interacting in a virtual world rather than simply buying products from a typical website.
It’s important, however, to note that CVS Health is paying close attention to this evolving technology. If it becomes popular, CVS will have positioned itself to move quickly and get ahead of its competitors.
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