No is no. Although the Hermès brand has had a legal victory against the collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) MetaBirkins, it intends to go further. She believes that the creator of the collection continues to enrich himself at the expense of his luxury brand.
Hermès and the MetaBirkins NFTs case
The affair began a little over a year ago, in December 2021. Hermès then issued a warning to Mason Rothschild, the creator of the MetaBirkins, a collection of NFTs based on the brand’s iconic Birkin bags. The collection had enabled the designer to generate several hundred million dollars in sales.
The collection of digital Birkin bags is still present on the LooksRare platform
The case ended in a lawsuit against Mason Rothschild, who was ordered to pay the luxury brand $133,000. The collection disappeared from the OpenSea NFTs platform, and Hermès – along with other luxury brands – breathed a sigh of relief.
Except that it was not enough for the French brand: Hermès has decided to continue the legal proceedings, as we have just learned. The brand has just registered a request, so that Mason Rothschild is formally prevented from selling Birkin bags in the form of NFTs in the future. Hermès indeed argues that the designer continues to promote his collection:
“Despite the verdict in favor of Hermès, Rothschild continues to promote the sales of NFTs MetaBirkins via various social networks, and he will get royalties for such sales. Rothschild’s past and present conduct shows that he is likely to continue infringing the Hermès trademark.»
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Art or no art?
Mason Rothschild has indeed been vocal about his disagreement, believing that his collection should be considered art. This is the whole question of NFTs of this type. Art indeed commonly uses elements or existing works in order to make a social commentary. But when these existing elements are the intellectual property of such a brand, where does the right to the art end and where does the theft of intellectual property begin?
This is the question we can ask ourselves. At this point, no MetaBirkin NFTs have been sold since last December, and Mason Rothschild did not directly promote the collection on social mediaalthough he was particularly firm on his position regarding the status of NFTs.
The debate is therefore far from over in the non-fungible token sector, and it is likely that precedents of this type will accumulate. Knowing whether a work is art or a shameless copy is also a debate that has existed since the dawn of time : NFTs only attack the subject from a new technological angle.
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Source: United States District Court, document filed
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Journalist at Cryptoast, I fell into the pot of cryptocurrencies a few years ago. I am passionate about the innovative technologies that stem from the blockchain and I like to find the most crispy information to share with you.
Marine Debelloir
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