Source: El País

The current social and economic paradigms are slowly infiltrating the virtual world, with NFTs related to art and fashion industry every day. In this context, there is a particular case that is attracting attention, that is, the conflict over the French fashion house, Hermès.

The French luxury company has sued Mason Rothschild, creator of NFT who designed the MetaBirkins, alleging trademark infringement because of the selling of digital copies of its most iconic bag.

It should be remembered that in May of 2021, the artist created a digital animation of a transparent Birkin bag that has a baby inside and whose evolution of 40 weeks of gestation can be observed. The piece was sold for $23,500 dollars (approximately $480,000 mexican pesos).

Rothschild continued with the creation of more than 100 NFTs inspired by the Hermès Birkin, which were sold through a marketplace specialized in the sale and purchase of NFTs. His designs were valued at over a million dollars. However, last December, they were withdrawn after Hermès reported that they were not endorsed by the firm and infringed its trademark rights.

In the lawsuit, the fashion house accuses Rothschild of being “a digital speculator seeking to get rich by appropriating the MetaBirkins brand to create, trade, sell, and facilitate the exchange of digital assets known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).” The firm says that the MetaBirkins brand simply copies Hermès famous Birkin trademark by adding the generic prefix ‘meta’.

In turn, the digital artist published a document on his social media, where he assured that the suit is based on “unfounded claims” and that the MetaBirkins are not “fake Birkin bags”, but he has created works of art “depicting imaginary Birkin bags.”

Undoubtedly, the incorporation of the world of fashion in virtual reality is triggering a legal vacuum in the protection rights of brands. Additionally, although it is true that Hermès owns the rights to the Birkin brand for bags, these do not necessarily apply to virtual objects.

Under this scenario, some companies have filed trademark applications for brands such as Nike to be applied to the virtual world, in order to preserve their rights regarding virtual items.

In the opinion of some experts, if Hermès wants to prove that its rights apply to the virtual world “it must demonstrate that consumers are likely to be confused about the origin of the MetaBirkins and their association with the brand”. This case is just one example of the legal problems that brands can face in the metaverse and in the face of the growing demand for virtual fashion and NFTs.