Fashion house Hermés suing artist creating NFT Birkin bags

The jury trial over trademark infringement and dilution between Hermès and the artist Mason Rothschild got underway Monday in New York’s Southern District Court, Report informs referring to WWD.

The artist is being sued by the luxury house for his digital collection of 100 fur-covered bags reminiscent of Hermès’ signature Birkin handbag in non-fungible tokens. The assortment first debuted at Art Basel in Miami in December 2021.

The French company first took legal action in January 2022 alleging the artist was selling his digital MetaBirkins without authorization. Last March, the artist retaliated with his own filing, claiming among other things that his art was protected by First Amendment rights, and selling it does not diminish those rights. That appeal was later dismissed.

Hermès has alleged that Rothschild tried to “rip off” its Birkin trademark by adding the prefix “Meta,” as well as its design trademark. It also floated how it already had its own plans for the metaverse and NFTs. NFTs use blockchain technology to link images with a digital identifier.

One of Hermès’ attorneys, Oren Warshavsky of BakerHostetler, stated Monday how the case came down to trademark infringement related to the nearly 40-year-old Birkin.