It is just over a year since Hermès filed a New York trademark infringement lawsuit against Mason Rothschild, who created the MetaBirkins NFT collection featuring images of handbags in the style of Birkin bags. The jury found in favor of Hermès on all counts. It concluded that the legally protected right to artistic expression did not override the creator’s liability for infringement on intellectual property (IP).
The verdict included trademark infringement, trademark dilution and cybersquatting. It awarded Hermès $110,000 for the trademark aspect and $23,000 for cybersquatting.
The NFT world was waiting for a conclusion regarding artistic expression. From the start, Rothschild, whose real name is Sonny Estival, said that the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment gave him the right to sell “art that depicts Birkin bags.” He likened it to Andy Warhol’s paintings of Campbell’s soup.
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