Hermès wins MetaBirkins lawsuit; jurors not convinced NFTs are art

CHENNAI: Luxury brand Hermès won the lawsuit against artist Mason Rothschild, after his digital version of its coveted Birkin handbag with a reproduction of a mature foetus inside it, popped up online. A Birkin with mammoth tusks affixed to it. One sporting the Grinch’s shaggy green fur.

Others stamped with van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ or populated by smiley emojis. Hermès swiftly sued him, over the NFT project he called ‘MetaBirkins,’ arguing that its trademark was being diluted and that potential consumers might be fooled into buying the unaffiliated virtual goods. The case’s ramifications extended far beyond Hermès. In some of the first litigation to scrutinise the nature of digital assets sold on the blockchain, up for debate was whether NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are strictly commodities or art shielded by the First Amendment. A nine-person federal jury determined that Rothschild had infringed on the trademark rights and awarded Hermès $133,000 in total damages.