KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut owner, Yum! Brands has filed for non-fungible token (NFT) trademarks for its restaurant chains. Based on the filing seen at the US Patent and Trademark Office, the company is applying for NFT trademarks for its three leading fast-food brands.

Yum! Brands filed for KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut’s virtual food and beverage (F&B) products in addition to downloadable multimedia files that contain artworks, video, text, and audio related to the restaurants and their menu. The trademark application also indicated downloadable virtual goods like NFTs, downloadable loyalty cards, video game software with non-fungible tokens, digital tokens, and other virtual items.

According to Marketing Interactive, Yum! Brands’ trademark application for the three fast-food chains includes virtual restaurant operations featuring actual and virtual items and home delivery as well. Moreover, KFC’s logo, the words “Kentucky Fried Chicken” and “KFC,” and Colonel Sanders’ image were also trademarked for future NFTs.

At any rate, it was reported that the Yum! Brands have plans of entering the metaverse space too, and the NFT trademark filing is part of its preparations. Crypto News reported that it was Mike Kondoudis, a licensed trademark lawyer, who first tweeted about the NFT trademark filing for KFC’s name, logo, and others.

“KFC has filed trademark applications for its name and logo for virtual foods and drinks; NFTs and NFT backed multimedia; online stores featuring virtual goods and virtual restaurants with actual and virtual goods,” he tweeted.

Kondoudis further said in a separate press statement that “Clearly, Yum! Brands sees the potential of the Metaverse and is preparing its trademarks and brands for the virtual economy that will dominate it.”

The trademark filing was only revealed recently, but it was actually filed on March 25 at the USPTO. Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC is now the latest major fast-food chain to have brand trademarks for NFTs. Once approved, customers may next see their respective new restaurants in the metaverse as suggested by the trademark lawyer.

“We expect the number of trademark filings for NFTs and virtual products and services from the restaurant and food/beverage sectors to increase over the next twelve months as companies come to appreciate the need for brand protection in the Metaverse,” Kondoudis said as more brands are also submitting trademark applications.