Hermès’ Plea Accepted: Court Orders Suspension of All ‘MetaBirkin’ NFT Transactions

French Luxury Fashion House Hermès Secures Injunction on MetaBirkin NFT Sales

French luxury fashion house Hermès has achieved another significant victory in its infringement case against artist Mason Rothschild. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has issued a permanent injunction, prohibiting all sales of the “MetaBirkin” nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

Hermès initially filed the request to the court in March, seeking to block all transactions involving the MetaBirkin NFTs.

On June 23, Judge Jed Rakoff, based in Manhattan, officially granted the request. In his ruling, he expressed skepticism towards Rothschild’s defense and questioned the artist’s continued marketing of the project.

According to Judge Rakoff, “[The] defendant’s entire scheme here was to defraud consumers into believing, by his use of variations on Hermes’ trademarks, that Hermes was endorsing his lucrative MetaBirkins NFTs. Nothing in the First Amendment insulates him from liability for such a scheme.”

The MetaBirkin Collection and Legal Battle

The MetaBirkin collection consists of 100 NFT artworks featuring furry Birkin-style handbags. Rothschild reportedly generated over $1 million in sales from this project.

The legal dispute commenced in January when Hermès accused Rothschild’s NFT collection of unauthorized use of its Birkin trademark, leading customers to mistakenly believe that the brand was associated with the project.

In February, the court ruled that Rothschild had indeed violated Hermès’ trademark, following a verdict from a nine-member jury. The artist was ordered to pay $133,000 in damages.

Throughout the case, Rothschild argued that his project constituted artistic expression protected by the First Amendment, drawing a parallel to Andy Warhol’s ability to legally create and sell art featuring Campbell’s soup cans.

Additionally, the artist claimed that he had not intentionally misled consumers, as he had provided disclaimers stating that Hermès had no affiliation with the project.

However, both the judge and jury rejected these arguments, particularly questioning the use of the term “Birkins.”

“The jury found that his decision to use Hermès’ trademarks in the name and design of the MetaBirkins NFTs — not just his marketing and sales techniques — was explicitly misleading and rejected his disclaimer defense,” states the court document.