Bloomberg Law
Jan. 27, 2023, 9:32 PM UTC

First NFT Trademark Trial Pits Hermès Against MetaBirkin Artist

Isaiah Poritz
Isaiah Poritz
Legal Reporter

French luxury design house Hermès International SA’s upcoming trademark trial against digital artist Mason Rothschild—the first of its kind—will test the boundaries of artistic expression and how nonfungible tokens are viewed in the eyes of decades-old intellectual property law.

Hermès on Monday will argue to a Manhattan federal jury that Rothschild violated trademark law by creating and selling “MetaBirkin” NFTs, which depict digital images of the famous Birkin handbag.

But Rothschild will counter that the MetaBirkin NFTs are artworks, no different from Andy Warhol’s silkscreen prints of Campbell’s soup cans, and are therefore protected by the First Amendment. The MetaBirkins ...

Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:

Learn About Bloomberg Law

AI-powered legal analytics, workflow tools and premium legal & business news.

Already a subscriber?

Log in to keep reading or access research tools.