In 2025, trademarks are no longer confined to static logos, slogans, or stylised brand names. The era of non-traditional trademarks has fully arrived: one where sound, colour, scent, holograms, virtual experiences, and even AI-generated brand identities can be protected as intellectual property.
This isn’t just a legal evolution; it’s a cultural and technological shift redefining how brands express identity in an increasingly digital world.
Welcome to an age where your brand can be heard, smelled, felt, or even experienced through augmented reality. And where protecting it requires AI-powered monitoring tools, NFT-based trademark proofs, and blockchain-backed registries.
The Rise of Non-Traditional Trademarks
A non-traditional trademark extends beyond traditional visual identifiers. It includes sound marks (like the Netflix “ta-dum”), motion marks (like the animated Google Doodle), colour marks (like Tiffany Blue), shape marks (like the Coca-Cola bottle), and scent or texture marks that trigger unique sensory associations.
In 2025, the frontier is expanding. Brands are registering holographic marks, virtual goods identifiers, and even AI avatars as trademarks. With the explosion of the metaverse and virtual commerce, owning an image or logo isn’t enough; brands must now protect how they exist and interact in immersive digital ecosystems.
Why Businesses Must Embrace Non-Traditional Trademarks in 2025
The modern consumer no longer encounters brands solely in stores or on websites. They engage with brands in VR spaces, through AI chatbots, and on blockchain-based marketplaces.
This new brand universe demands new protection mechanisms.
- Omnichannel Brand Consistency:
A colour, sound, or motion can represent your brand across real and virtual experiences: maintaining continuity in fragmented digital ecosystems. - Digital Brand Identity Protection:
As AI-generated counterfeits and deepfake ads proliferate, protecting distinct brand signals like voice, sound, or holograms ensures authenticity. - Global Recognition of Non-Traditional Marks:
IP offices worldwide, including India, the EUIPO, and the USPTO, are expanding recognition frameworks for such marks. In fact, India’s IP Office recently updated its digital filing systems to accommodate 3D and sound mark submissions, signaling a shift toward tech-enabled IP management.
Tech Meets Trademarks: The 2025 Inflection Point
2025 marks a turning point in brand protection; where AI, blockchain, and NFTs converge to transform how trademarks are filed, verified, and enforced.
AI in Trademark Enforcement
Artificial Intelligence is now a crucial ally for brand owners.
AI tools can:
- Scan millions of online listings to detect trademark violations and counterfeits in real time.
- Use image and sound recognition to find infringing uses of non-traditional marks (like similar jingles or holograms).
- Deploy AI-driven brand enforcement strategies that predict infringement trends using data analytics.
In India, several IP analytics startups are using machine learning to flag brand misuse across e-commerce and social platforms, offering instant alerts and AI-curated legal evidence for brand enforcement teams.
Blockchain and NFT-Based Trademarks
In 2025, blockchain technology underpins the next generation of IP rights.
Each registered mark can be minted as an NFT, serving as immutable proof of ownership and timestamped authenticity.
This approach:
- Prevents tampering or fraudulent claims of ownership.
- Enables cross-jurisdictional verification through a decentralised global registry.
- Supports smart contracts that automatically track licensing and royalty payments.
For instance, a fashion brand can issue NFT-based trademarks tied to its virtual clothing line in the metaverse, ensuring that ownership, authenticity, and usage rights are all cryptographically secured.
Non-Traditional IP Rights in the Metaverse
Virtual commerce has blurred the boundary between the real and digital world.
In 2025, brands exist as immersive entities. Logos float in AR billboards, brand mascots interact in 3D, and signature sounds guide users through digital stores.
But how do you protect a brand’s virtual perfume, or the sound of a metaverse experience?
Forward-thinking companies are now filing digital-first trademarks: covering motion, holographic, and sound elements used in virtual goods and experiences.
This trend is shaping the emerging law of non-traditional IP rights in the metaverse—a key area of focus for 2025 and beyond.
How Non-Traditional Trademarks Are Redefining Brand Protection
Traditional IP frameworks were designed for print, packaging, and signage. But as we transition into a digitally native economy, trademarks must capture multisensory, interactive, and AI-generated brand elements.
Here’s how the transformation is unfolding:
- AI-generated brands: Companies are registering trademarks for AI-created designs, logos, and even voices, raising fascinating questions about authorship and originality.
- Virtual twins of real products: Brands are duplicating their real-world trademarks in virtual spaces to protect digital replicas and prevent unauthorised virtual merchandise.
- Holographic brand expressions: 3D and motion-based branding is being trademarked to ensure recognition in augmented reality experiences.
These transformations are redefining how authenticity, ownership, and recognition are interpreted in the digital economy.
Emerging Trends in Trademark Law
Global trademark law is evolving to keep pace with these changes.
Some key emerging trends in Trademark law include:
- Broader definition of trademarks: Jurisdictions like the EU, India, and Japan now explicitly recognise sound, colour, and motion marks.
- Harmonisation efforts: WIPO’s Madrid System is adapting digital filing protocols to accommodate multimedia marks.
- AI and trademarks: IP offices are experimenting with AI-assisted examination systems to analyse complex digital submissions more efficiently.
- Data privacy and digital rights: The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 in India also indirectly impacts brand protection by regulating data use in AI training and monitoring activities.
Together, these developments signal a future where Trade Mark law becomes as dynamic as the digital world it protects.
The Indian Perspective: Adapting Trademark Law for the Digital Age
India is rapidly aligning its trademark framework with the realities of digital and sensory branding. The Trademark Act, 1999, though originally designed for traditional marks, has shown remarkable flexibility, especially through evolving interpretations by the Indian Trademark Registry and the Appellate forum (now High Court and previously by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board till its abolition). Sound marks have already been recognised (Yahoo!’s yodel being the first), and the Registry now accepts 3D, motion, and colour marks through digital filing. As Indian startups and technology companies expand into virtual commerce, the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademark (CGPDTM) is working toward digitised examination tools and AI-assisted scrutiny of filings. In parallel, discussions around integrating blockchain-backed IP registries and smart enforcement mechanisms are gaining traction under India’s Digital India and AI governance initiatives. Combined with the growing interplay between the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and IP surveillance technologies, India’s legal landscape is steadily preparing for a future where non-traditional trademarks are as central to brand protection as traditional word or device marks.
Spotlight on 2026: What Comes Next
If 2025 is the year of adaptation, 2026 will be the year of acceleration.
Expect to see:
- AI-authenticated brand registries powered by blockchain—where verification happens in milliseconds.
- Interoperable trademark protection across metaverses, enabling brands to maintain identity across multiple virtual platforms.
- Scent and haptic trademarks gaining acceptance as wearable tech and AR expand sensory branding.
- Predictive brand protection models, where AI anticipates infringements before they happen by analysing marketplace trends and social signals.
By 2026, the line between brand, experience, and technology will blur entirely, and non-traditional trademarks will be the currency of trust in both digital and real-world interactions.
Tech-Enabled IP Management: The New Imperative
Managing non-traditional trademarks requires integrated, tech-enabled IP management systems.
Companies are now investing in:
- Cloud-based IP dashboards for real-time tracking of registrations and enforcement actions.
- Smart analytics that integrate legal, social, and market data for risk assessment.
- Blockchain-backed IP vaults for digital proof of ownership and licensing transparency.
The result is a more agile, responsive, and data-driven brand protection ecosystem; one that can keep pace with innovation rather than chase it.
Impact and Takeaway
Non-traditional trademarks are no longer a niche legal experiment—they’re becoming core to global brand strategy.
In a marketplace where consumers interact through sensory, digital, and AI-mediated experiences, protecting a logo alone is insufficient.
The real differentiator in 2025 is how effectively a brand protects and manages its non-traditional identifiers; from holograms and sounds to AI avatars and NFT assets.
The convergence of AI, blockchain, and IP law is setting a new benchmark for authenticity and innovation.
And the takeaway for brands is clear:
In 2025 and beyond, the brands that thrive will be those that not only adapt to non-traditional trademarks but also build their identity around them.
FAQ
1. What are non-traditional trademarks?
Non-traditional trademarks include identifiers beyond words and logos—like sounds, colours, shapes, scents, motion, or holograms—that distinguish goods or services.
2. Can you trademark a sound or colour?
Yes. Many jurisdictions, including India, allow registration of distinctive sounds (like jingles) and colours if they acquire brand recognition.
3. How do NFTs impact brand protection?
NFT-based trademarks provide secure, immutable records of ownership on blockchain networks—helping prevent counterfeit claims and ensuring traceability in digital and virtual marketplaces.
4. What are the implications of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023?
This Act regulates how personal data is collected and used—impacting brand monitoring systems and AI tools that process consumer or market data for trademark enforcement.
