NFT
MetaBirkins artist Mason Rothschild challenges ruling on Hermès non-fungible token (NFT) copyright infringement by questioning an earlier statement.
Rothschild’s lawyer argues that a California judge erred in ruling that artist Ryder Ripps violated the Bored Apes’ trademark.
Lawyers Hermès reject intangible property argument
The artist claims that the intangibility of his Hermès MetaBirkin bag prevents NFT from falling under the Lanham Act, the law governing copyright infringement.
He disputes the recent ruling that Ripps illegally copied Bored Ape NFTs, which, despite being intangible, are still Lanham Act commodities.
He argues that the verdict of a Dastar Corp vs. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp case in 2023 confirmed that the Lanham Act applies only to confusion over the origin of tangible goods, excluding art.
“Yuga Labs’ use of the ‘Bored Ape’ character identifies the creators of the Bored Ape images; the NFTs convey the unique property of the image. Nothing about the use of that mark provides information about the NFT as a tangible thing, only its relation to an intangible work of art.
Hermès lawyers said Rothschild is simply repeating arguments that a California court had previously rejected in relation to the Bored Ape case. The plaintiff noted that Rothschild’s view of the trademark would allow for widespread infringement.
BIRKIN Handbag and MetaBirkin NFTs | Source: Lexology
In February, the company originally convinced a New York jury that Rothschild had violated intellectual property laws.
MetaBirkins case gives way to BAYC ruling
Last month, U.S. District Judge John Walter ruled that Ripps and Jeremy Cahen broke federal laws by adding the Bored Ape logo to sell copycat NFTS.
Yuga Labs accused the duo of making $500 million through a pump-and-dump scheme selling counterfeit Bored Ape tokens. The pair built social media trust on the collection using Yuga Lab’s trademarks.
Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs is a high-profile collection of cartoon monkeys that became a status symbol during the 2021 crypto bull market.
BAYC Sales Volume | Source: CryptoSlam
Although interest has since waned, the collection has recorded sales volume of $2.8 billion since its inception.