Trademark applications frequently offer hints about Samsung's future plans, and recently, the company applied to trademark the term “Samsung Circular Loop” in several major markets.
The trademark application pertaining to “Samsung Circular Loop” popped up online a few days ago across patent and intellectual property agencies in a handful of countries, at IP Australia, EUIPO (Europe), USPTO (USA), and IPO (UK). South Korea might not be far behind.
These events suggest that whatever Samsung Circular Loop is, it's being prepared for a global reach. But what is it, exactly?
A new global sustainability program?
According to these trademark applications, discovered by our colleagues at GalaxyClub, the “Samsung Circular Loop” trademark covers two categories.
One category lists a bunch of consumer electronics, from VR headsets, smartphones, styluses, and wearable devices to TVs, SSDs, USB flash drives, digital door locks, signages, chargers, and many more. In essence, the trademark covers almost every type of consumer electronics device you can imagine.
This doesn't help us pinpoint what the Samsung Circular Loop trademark is all about, but the second category mentioned in these documents might help us narrow it down a bit.
This other category describes “consultancy relating to the recycling of waste and trash; information, advice and consultancy services relating to the recycling of waste and trash; […]” as well as recycling of computer hardware, peripherals, electronics, plastic, components, home appliances, and upcycling.
There's no way to be sure of what all this means, but it's clear it has everything to do with Samsung's sustainability and recycling efforts. Over the past couple of years, Samsung has done many things to achieve better sustainability company-wide.
Assuming Samsung is preparing for a global launch of a new Circular Loop program that could support recycling and upcycling, there is a chance we might see the “Samsung Circular Loop” logo on future consumer electronics and mobile devices.
Hopefully, Samsung will make it easier for customers worldwide to recycle and trade devices and appliances they no longer have a use for. The trademark applications were filed only a few days ago, so only time will tell what this Circular Loop trademark means and whether or not it will help consumers directly.
