A jury in New York on Wednesday handed Hermès a victory in its trademark suit against MetaBirkin NFT creator Mason Rothschild.
Rothschild must pay total damages of $133,000, which includes estimated profits he received from the NFT sales of $110,000 and $23,000 for cybersquatting on the MetaBirkins.com domain.
The verdict in the closely watched trial, held in a US federal court, confirms that trademarks on real-world items can apply to digital goods and NFTs, an outcome likely to shape how fashion and individual creators approach NFTs.
Hermès had accused Rothschild of violating trademarks it holds on its well-known Birkin bags and diluting the Birkin name. Rothschild’s attorneys sought to portray the MetaBirkins as artistic expression protected as free speech in the US.
The jurors ultimately sided with Hermès, finding the MetaBirkins did not qualify as protected art and were more like regular consumer products that infringed the luxury house’s trademarks.
Stay tuned to BoF for updates on this developing story.
