On Jan. 30, a federal court in Manhattan will hold the trademark infringement trial for the MetaBirkin NFT series between Hermès and digital artist Mason Rothschild.
The trial and associated lawsuit were initially filed on Jan. 14, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by Hermès against Mason Rothschild after the artist allegedly refused to cease selling his NFT collection.
Hermès accused the nonfungible token (NFT) artist of violating its trademark by selling and promoting MetaBirkins, an NFT line allegedly modeled after the company’s Birkin bags.
MetaBirkin NFT misled customers that Hermès supports the project, lawsuit says
According to court documents, Hermès claims the collection used the Birkin trademark unlawfully, potentially leading clients to believe the luxury brand endorses the effort.
Meanwhile, court documents show that Rothschild believes his work is protected by the First Amendment, which allows for no restrictions on free expression.
Companies and brands have begun to come down on NFT projects that they claim violate copyright, intellectual property, and trademarks.
Quentin Tarantino, the director of the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, was forced to settle a dispute with Miramax last year after base-layer blockchain service provider Secret Network advertised the auction of “uncut screenplay scenes” from the movie.
Also in 2022, Nike sued StockX for trademark infringement on the grounds that the online retailer had reportedly produced NFTs that resembled Nike’s sneakers.