Creator of MetaBirkins NFTs loses trademark infringement lawsuit from Hermès

A digitally rendered handbag resembling a Birkin bag, which has been covered in faux fir with a yellow smiley face printMetaBirkin #98 (attribution)
A year ago, the Hermès luxury brand slapped Mason Rothschild, creator of "MetaBirkins" NFTs, with a trademark lawsuit. The suit centers on his NFT collection: a series of 100 digitally rendered, faux-furry handbags resembling the luxury Birkin bag design. The NFTs had enjoyed $1.2 million in trading in their two months of existence before the lawsuit was filed, and Rothschild estimated he made around $125,000 from the project.

Rothschild tried to argue that his work echoes Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup cans and other "brand art".

Hermès, on the other hand, argued that Rothschild was simply a "digital speculator" hawking a "get rich quick" scheme, and trying to profit off consumers' confusion that the NFTs were an official Hermès production. They claimed they have their own plans for NFTs, and that Rothschild impeded those with his project.

Ultimately, the jury found that Rothschild had infringed upon the Hermès trademark, and awarded the company $133,000 in damages.

"[Hermès] feel they have the right to choose what art IS and who IS an artist... Not because of what they create but because their CV doesn't scream artist with a pedigree from a world class art school," accused Rothschild after the decision, though he was not actually the designer of the images used in the NFT project.

Creator of "MetaBirkins" NFTs writes that he "won't be intimidated" by a trademark lawsuit from Hermès

A rendering of a fuzzy Birkin-styled bag with rainbow-colored abstract flowers on a black background. The bag is sitting on a white museum pedestal.MetaBirkin (attribution)
Mason Rothschild, the creator of "MetaBirkins" NFTs, was the target of a trademark lawsuit by Birkin bag-maker Hermès. The lawsuit came after he ignored a cease and desist from the company over his his 3D renderings depicting and named after the distinctive bags. In a public statement replying to the lawsuit, Rothschild wrote that "I am not creating or selling fake Birkin bags. I've made art works that depict imaginary, fur-covered Birkin bags... I have the right also to use the term 'MetaBirkins' to describe truthfully what that art depicts, and to comment artistically on those bags and on the Birkin brand." So far, the NFT collection has enjoyed about $1.2 million in trading.

I, for one, am very curious to see how the litigation plays out. In the meantime, the Rarible landing page for the connection displays an error message stating, "This user or item has been temporarily blocked from public access".

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