Digital artist Mason Rothschild launched an NFT collection called MetaBirkin, in late 2021. The collection consisted of tokens, minted on Ethereum, unofficially paying homage to luxury Birkin handbags from Hermès. But, the luxury brand did not appreciate the tribute paid to one of its real assets. At the time, she explained that the “NFTs infringe the intellectual property and trademark rights of Hermès“. Thus, in January 2022, Hermès filed a complaint against Rothschild. The trial finally took place on Wednesday. Find out what happened.
Mason Rothschild must pay 133,000 dollars in damages!
The trial between Hermès and the creator of the NFT MetaBirkin collection took place in Manhattan. The federal jury in charge of evaluating the case ruled in favor of the luxury brand. Bloomberg Law revealed that Mason Rothschild was ordered to pay $133,000 in damages. The jury noted that the 100 tokens of MetaBirkin only represented not a form of expression protected by law. Concretely, they cannot benefit from the protection of the first amendment of the American Constitution.
You should know that the NFT MetaBirkin collection is not licensed. That said, Rothschild told the jury that the collection was a “experienceartistic. Additionally, he revealed that he earned $450 worth of ETH from each original MetaBirkin NFT sale. Also, he got about $70,000 in royalties from the secondary sales of the non-fungible tokens.
As for the Hermès brand, it told in court that she plans to enter the NFT sector. She would like to do like the famous brands Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana, for example. In this context, Hermès believes that the NFT MetaBirkin collection creates confusion around its brand and its products.
The victory of the French luxury goods brand Hermès would set a potentially important precedent in the NFT sector. This precedent would revolve around the protection of intellectual property in the world of NFTs. It would also relate to the issue of selling digital items on decentralized platforms and without permission. Additionally, other brands have previously defended their actual assets against unauthorized copying. For example, in 2021, Nike filed a complaint against the StockX company which resells sports shoes. The retailer had created Nike-branded NFTs without permission.
Receive a digest of news in the world of cryptocurrencies by subscribing to our new service of daily and weekly so you don’t miss any of the essential Tremplin.io!
