Chinese tech giant Tencent is applying for a virtual concerts patent, as conglomerates race for the first-mover advantage in the metaverse industry, business tracker Qichacha’s data shows.

See related article: 16,000 metaverse trademark applications filed, unlikely to pass in China

Fast facts

  • The Shenzhen-based social and gaming giant’s patent application involves a computing approach and interactive instructions for organizing a virtual concert.
  • The metaverse has become a buzzword in China, with tech titans Tencent, ByteDance, NetEase, and Baidu filing for related trademarks.
  • China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) said it received at least 16,000 trademark applications containing the word “metaverse.”
  • CNIPA, however, vowed to crack down on “malicious” registrations that piggybacked on the rising popularity of the metaverse.

See related article: Tencent CEO excited about metaverse as Q3 revenue lags