The creator of the MetaBirkin project claimed that his endeavor was safeguarded by the first amendment as a form of artistic expression. However, this argument ultimately proved insufficient. Luxury fashion house Hermès, based in France, has achieved another victory in its copyright infringement case against artist Mason Rothschild. A judge in the United States has issued a permanent injunction, prohibiting the sale of all nonfungible tokens (NFTs) associated with "MetaBirkin."
Hermès initially filed a request with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in March to halt the sale of MetaBirkin NFTs. On June 23, Judge Jed Rakoff, situated in Manhattan, officially granted the request. He expressed skepticism regarding Rothschild's defense against Hermès' lawsuit and questioned the artist's ongoing promotion of the project. "The defendant's primary objective was to deceive consumers into believing that Hermes endorsed his profitable MetaBirkins NFTs by employing variations of Hermes' trademarks," Rakoff stated. He added, "The First Amendment does not shield him from liability for such deceptive practices."
The MetaBirkin collection comprises 100 NFT artworks featuring furry Birkin-style handbags. Reportedly, Rothschild generated over $1 million in sales from this project. The legal dispute commenced in January when Hermès accused Rothschild's NFT collection of unlawfully utilizing its Birkin trademark, leading customers to believe that the brand was endorsing the project.
In February, the court ruled that Rothschild had infringed upon Hermès' trademark based on a jury verdict rendered by a panel of nine members. The artist was ordered to pay $133,000 in damages. Rothschild contended that his project constituted protected artistic expression under the first amendment, akin to Andy Warhol's lawful creation and sale of art featuring Campbell's soup cans.
However, both the judge and the jury rejected this argument, primarily due to the use of the term "Birkins." The court document states, "The jury determined that Rothschild's choice to incorporate Hermès' trademarks in the name and design of the MetaBirkins NFTs—beyond his marketing and sales techniques—was explicitly misleading and dismissed his disclaimer defense."
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