Hermès International Seeks Permanent Injunction for “MetaBirkin” NFTs
THE LITIGATION CONTINUES: The legal battle between Hermes International and the artist known as Mason Rothschild took another turn on Friday, when the luxury house filed a preliminary motion for a permanent injunction in Manhattan federal court on Friday to try to stop it from selling and promoting its non-fungible “MetaBirkin” tokens.
Hermès sued the 28-year-old artist, whose first name is Sonny Estival, for creation and sale 100 MetaBirkins – colorful NFTs inspired by faux fur Birkin bags – in November 2021. The luxury brand argued that NFTs had confused consumers, diluted the brand and impacted its ongoing plans for NFTs . Rothschild and his legal team insisted that the two-dimensional digital tokens were a commentary on the fashion's furless initiative, an experiment in reproducing the perceived value of the luxury handbag, and an act of protected artistic expression. by the First Amendment. The artist, who is also co-founder of the progressive store, gallery and event space Terminal27 in Los Angeles, has been compared to Pop Art artist Andy Warhol.
Related GalleriesLast month, a nine-person jury in Manhattan federal court found Rothschild liable for infringement of brand, brand dilution and cybersquatting. They also found that the First Amendment did not exclude liability. In terms of damages, Hermès will receive $110,000 for trademark infringement and trademark dilution, as well as $23,000 in damages for cybersquatting.
Hermes executives did not respond to a request for comment Monday regarding the latest action. A Rothschild spokesman released an unsolicited statement Monday from one of his lawyers at Lex Lumina PLLC, Rhett O. Millsaps II, which read, “As plaintiffs, Hermès must first file its case. This case is far from over. This latest filing is blatant excess by Hermes and an attempt to punish Mr. Rothschild for not liking his art, but what's up? Mr. Rothschild will respond to the Court in due course. »
This reiterated what Millsaps promised following last month's ruling that an appeal was planned. He also said at the time that all legal avenues would be taken by the Rothschild legal team. When asked if there was a deadline as to when the appeal would be filed on behalf of Rothschild, his spokesperson on Monday replied, "not at this time."
THE LITIGATION CONTINUES: The legal battle between Hermes International and the artist known as Mason Rothschild took another turn on Friday, when the luxury house filed a preliminary motion for a permanent injunction in Manhattan federal court on Friday to try to stop it from selling and promoting its non-fungible “MetaBirkin” tokens.
Hermès sued the 28-year-old artist, whose first name is Sonny Estival, for creation and sale 100 MetaBirkins – colorful NFTs inspired by faux fur Birkin bags – in November 2021. The luxury brand argued that NFTs had confused consumers, diluted the brand and impacted its ongoing plans for NFTs . Rothschild and his legal team insisted that the two-dimensional digital tokens were a commentary on the fashion's furless initiative, an experiment in reproducing the perceived value of the luxury handbag, and an act of protected artistic expression. by the First Amendment. The artist, who is also co-founder of the progressive store, gallery and event space Terminal27 in Los Angeles, has been compared to Pop Art artist Andy Warhol.
Related GalleriesLast month, a nine-person jury in Manhattan federal court found Rothschild liable for infringement of brand, brand dilution and cybersquatting. They also found that the First Amendment did not exclude liability. In terms of damages, Hermès will receive $110,000 for trademark infringement and trademark dilution, as well as $23,000 in damages for cybersquatting.
Hermes executives did not respond to a request for comment Monday regarding the latest action. A Rothschild spokesman released an unsolicited statement Monday from one of his lawyers at Lex Lumina PLLC, Rhett O. Millsaps II, which read, “As plaintiffs, Hermès must first file its case. This case is far from over. This latest filing is blatant excess by Hermes and an attempt to punish Mr. Rothschild for not liking his art, but what's up? Mr. Rothschild will respond to the Court in due course. »
This reiterated what Millsaps promised following last month's ruling that an appeal was planned. He also said at the time that all legal avenues would be taken by the Rothschild legal team. When asked if there was a deadline as to when the appeal would be filed on behalf of Rothschild, his spokesperson on Monday replied, "not at this time."
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