{"id":22980,"date":"2022-07-11T10:35:55","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T10:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980"},"modified":"2022-08-11T09:38:40","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T09:38:40","slug":"nft-metabirkin-prima-decisione-di-un-tribunale-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/flash-news\/italiano-nft-metabirkin-prima-decisione-di-un-tribunale-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"First US court decision in MetaBirkin NFT case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are the MetaBirkin NFTs works of art, or were they created for the sole purpose of illegally exploiting the renown of the iconic Birkin bag? The first decision of a US federal court in the case between fashion house Herm\u00e8s and artist Mason Rothschild does not end the dispute, but provides some initial guidance for the protection of brands on virtual platforms.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On 18 May 2022 the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (hereinafter the court) ruled in the dispute between the French fashion house Herm\u00e8s International \/ Herm\u00e8s of Paris Inc. (hereinafter Herm\u00e8s) and Mason Rothschild, an American digital artist.<\/p>\n

\"Birkin

Birkin bags \u2013 image from the hermes.com website<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The case is noteworthy as it involves several highly topical issues: the production of NFTs without the authorization of the owner of the intellectual property rights, the limits of unauthorised trademark use for artistic purposes and the protection of fashion brands in the metaverse.<\/p>\n

Facts in the case<\/span><\/h2>\n

Herm\u00e8s brought proceedings against Mason Rothschild after the artist created and sold, without Herm\u00e8s’ consent, a number of NFTs of digital images reproducing the Birkin bag<\/a>, an iconic model for which the French maison owns trademark and trade dress rights.<\/p>\n

In the images connected to the disputed NFTs, Mason Rothschild had changed the material (synthetic fur), colours and decoration of the bags, but the Birkin model remained recognizable and the NFTs were marketed (see here<\/a>) under the name “MetaBirkin \u201dat prices approaching those of authentic Herm\u00e8s Birkin bags.<\/p>\n

Herm\u00e8s claimed infringement of its trademark rights, and documented cases in which both the media and consumers believed that the MetaBirkins were Herm\u00e8s products.<\/p>\n

The artist asked the court to declare Herm\u00e8s’ appeal inadmissible, citing case law in which the protection of freedom of expression enshrined in the First amendment of the US Constitution had been extended to “expressive” works of art reproducing, in title or content, registered trademarks owned by third parties.<\/p>\n

The court was essentially called to establish whether the MetaBirkin images should be considered commercial products without an expressive character, in which case it is sufficient to establish whether intellectual property rights have been infringed, or works of art with an expressive character (the NFTs merely a certification), in which case both Herm\u00e8s’ intellectual property rights and the artist’s right to use the trademark must be taken into account.<\/p>\n

The court\u2019s decision<\/span><\/h2>\n

The court ruled, on the one hand, that the MetaBirkins are digital works of art possessing expressive character, therefore both First Amendment protection and the case law invoked by the artist apply.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the court rejected Mason Rothschild’s request to declare Herm\u00e8s’ appeal inadmissible, on the ground that the appeal was based on enough evidence to show that use of the name MetaBirkin has no artistic relevance, and even if had any, it is misleading as to the origin or content of the works.<\/p>\n

\"\"

MetaBirkins created by Mason Rothschild \u2013 images from the looksrare.org web site<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Although the decision does not put an end to the legal dispute, two points deserve attention.<\/p>\n

1 – An NFT does not per se<\/em> deprive the work of artistic character<\/strong> – For the court, an NFT is merely a tool certifying the authenticity of the image and tracing ownership transfer; in itself, use of NFTs in connection with digital images does not prove that the nature of the images is purely commercial to the point of excluding the protection provided for works of art.<\/p>\n

2 – Wearable NFTs<\/strong> – In a footnote, the court suggested that the choice to consider Mason Rothschild’s works worthy of protection as works of art could have been different had the NFTs been linked to the digital image of a virtually wearable<\/u> Birkin handbag.<\/p>\n

The use of wearable NFTs is already widespread and rapidly expanding in online games and virtual platforms in general, so the court\u2019s comment tends to confirm the need to extend trademark and design protection to cover use for NFTs and virtual platforms.<\/p>\n

Extending protection appears most urgent for brands in the areas of fashion and other wearable products, as well as of any other products that can be used in gaming contexts and virtual platforms (see our recent article The metaverse, trademarks and intellectual property: opportunities and risks<\/a>).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related content<\/em><\/p>\n

Flash news – NFTs and intellectual property, what you need to know to protect your trademarks and designs<\/a><\/p>\n

Flash news \u2013\u00a0The metaverse, trademarks and intellectual property: opportunities and risks<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are the MetaBirkin NFTs works of art, or were they created for the sole purpose of illegally exploiting the renown of the iconic Birkin bag? The first decision of a US federal court in the case between fashion house Herm\u00e8s and artist Mason Rothschild does not end the dispute, but provides some initial guidance for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":22984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNFT MetaBirkin, prima decisione di un tribunale USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gli NFT MetaBirkin sono opere d\u2019arte, o servono solo a sfruttare illegittimamente la notoriet\u00e0 della borsa Birkin? Prima sentenza USA.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NFT MetaBirkin, prima decisione di un tribunale USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gli NFT MetaBirkin sono opere d\u2019arte, o servono solo a sfruttare illegittimamente la notoriet\u00e0 della borsa Birkin? Prima sentenza USA.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-11T10:35:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-11T09:38:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Birkin450.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laura Ercoli\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"Intellectual Property since 1882\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Birkin450.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Birkin450.png\",\"width\":450,\"height\":450,\"caption\":\"Borse Birkin - immagine tratta dal sito hermes.com\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980\",\"name\":\"NFT MetaBirkin, prima decisione di un tribunale USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-11T10:35:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-11T09:38:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/#\/schema\/person\/3988cde84153da4b745510f0712d395b\"},\"description\":\"Gli NFT MetaBirkin sono opere d\u2019arte, o servono solo a sfruttare illegittimamente la notoriet\u00e0 della borsa Birkin? Prima sentenza USA.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NFT MetaBirkin, prima decisione di un tribunale USA\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/#\/schema\/person\/3988cde84153da4b745510f0712d395b\",\"name\":\"Laura Ercoli\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40352aead1e319e41371a554b61ab9b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40352aead1e319e41371a554b61ab9b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Laura Ercoli\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/author\/lercoli\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NFT MetaBirkin, prima decisione di un tribunale USA","description":"Gli NFT MetaBirkin sono opere d\u2019arte, o servono solo a sfruttare illegittimamente la notoriet\u00e0 della borsa Birkin? Prima sentenza USA.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NFT MetaBirkin, prima decisione di un tribunale USA","og_description":"Gli NFT MetaBirkin sono opere d\u2019arte, o servono solo a sfruttare illegittimamente la notoriet\u00e0 della borsa Birkin? Prima sentenza USA.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980","article_published_time":"2022-07-11T10:35:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-11T09:38:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":450,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Birkin450.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Laura Ercoli","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/","name":"","description":"Intellectual Property since 1882","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Birkin450.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Birkin450.png","width":450,"height":450,"caption":"Borse Birkin - immagine tratta dal sito hermes.com"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980","name":"NFT MetaBirkin, prima decisione di un tribunale USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2022-07-11T10:35:55+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-11T09:38:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/#\/schema\/person\/3988cde84153da4b745510f0712d395b"},"description":"Gli NFT MetaBirkin sono opere d\u2019arte, o servono solo a sfruttare illegittimamente la notoriet\u00e0 della borsa Birkin? Prima sentenza USA.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/?p=22980#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NFT MetaBirkin, prima decisione di un tribunale USA"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/#\/schema\/person\/3988cde84153da4b745510f0712d395b","name":"Laura Ercoli","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40352aead1e319e41371a554b61ab9b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40352aead1e319e41371a554b61ab9b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Laura Ercoli"},"url":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/author\/lercoli\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22980"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22980"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23122,"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22980\/revisions\/23122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sib.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}