Authors: Mikaela Belcher, Casey Yang, Nick Breen and Michael Isselin

Welcome to the first of Reed Smith’s DigiDigest series on all things Metaverse and Web3. These short, monthly updates cut through the noise and put the most talked-about news and coolest new initiatives in the Metaverse and Web3 at your fingertips.

Here’s the best of February 2023:

Trends to watch

Major brands spent millions on advertising during the NFL’s Super Bowl

There were no cryptocurrency ads this year (unlike last season), but several major brands built Metaverse-related activations around the Big Game. For instance, Doritos' Super Bowl commercial was bolstered by Doritos’ recreation of its ad at the Doritos Triangle Studios in Decentraland. The NFL and Intuit produced a Saweetie concert in Roblox. Blockchain gaming company Limit Break aired a free NFT giveaway to support its DigiDaigaku game. After the game, these DigiDaigaku NFTs rose to $460 in value on OpenSea, the crypto-asset marketplace.

Token-gated playlists tested at Spotify

Spotify is pilot-testing NFT-gated playlists, whereby NFT keycard holders are given exclusive access to certain music playlists. iPhone users are currently unable to access the feature, which is only available to Spotify Premium users. Spotify has a history of experimenting in the NFT space, as exemplified by its 2022 profile feature that let artists promote their digital art.

Super PUMA shows vintage appeal  

As it approaches its 75th anniversary, sneaker brand PUMA launched a 10,000 strong PFP (profile picture ready) NFT collection featuring its 1970s cartoon character, Super PUMA. This isn’t PUMA’s first foray into Web3. In addition to previous NFT drops, in September, PUMA launched its own interactive Metaverse space, “Black Station,” which operates as a hub for all of its Web3, phygital and Metaverse experiences.

Dating in the Metaverse … with Paris Hilton 

To coincide with Valentines’ Day, Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media and The Sandbox launched “Parisland,” a romantic adventure set on a tropical island that will see players participate in an in-game dating reality show hosted by Paris Hilton in the Metaverse.

Latest in legal

Jury decides in favor of Hermès in MetaBirkin NFT case

On February 28, after three days of deliberation, a Manhattan federal jury issued a verdict finding artist Mason Rothschild liable for infringing and diluting Hermès International’s BIRKIN trademarks for its iconic Birkin handbag with his so-called “MetaBirkin” NFT collection, and for unlawfully cybersquatting on the MetaBirkins.com domain name. The jury’s verdict sets a first-of-its-kind precedent that will guide not only NFT creators but also brands looking to protect their intellectual property in the increasingly popular NFT and broader Web3 space.

Read more about the case on reedsmith.com.

NBA Top Shot moments could constitute (unregistered) securities and Emoji-speak can deliver financial advice

Dapper Labs, the creator of the National Basketball Association’s Top Shot NFTs, will face a lawsuit for allegedly selling unregistered securities after federal Judge Victor Marrero denied Dapper Labs’ motion to dismiss the case. Notably, as part of the ruling, Marrero held that today’s emoji-literate consumers could have taken NBA’s use of the “rocket ship,” “stock chart” and “money bags” emojis on its NBA Top Shot Twitter account as financial advice, as, according to Marrero, these symbols indicate “one thing: financial return on investment.”

Read more on bloomberglaw.com and on cointelegraph.com.

The next frontier

Tech companies enter agreement for ‘Japan Metaverse Economic Zone’

A group of prominent Japanese technology companies, including Fujitsu and Mitsubishi, came together in a new agreement, dubbed the “Japan Metaverse Economic Zone,” to promote the country’s Metaverse sector. The agreement also focuses on building an open Metaverse infrastructure called “Ryugukoku,” which will spark the next wave of Metaverse development, such as creating interoperable tools for users and developers.

Read more on cointelegraph.com.