Judge Grants Permanent Injunction Against MetaBirkin NFTs

A United States judge has issued a permanent injunction on all “MetaBirkin” nonfungible token (NFT) transactions, granting Hermès yet another victory in its infringement case against artist Mason Rothschild.

In March, Hermès initially petitioned the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to halt all sales of MetaBirkin NFTs.

U.S. Judge Jed Rakoff of Manhattan granted the request on June 23, and he expressed skepticism regarding Rothschild’s defense against Hermès’ lawsuit, challenging Rothschild’s continued marketing of the project.

“[The] defendant’s entire scheme here was to deceive consumers into believing that Hermes was endorsing his lucrative MetaBirkins NFTs,” Rakoff said, adding that:

“Nothing in the First Amendment insulates him from liability for such a scheme.“

The MetaBirkin collection consists of 100 NFT artworks depicting furry Birkin-style handbags, with Rothschild generating more than $1 million in sales.

The legal dispute began in January when Hermès accused Rothschild’s NFT collection of improperly using its Birkin trademark, leading customers to believe the brand supported the initiative.

In February, the court ruled that Rothschild had infringed upon the Hermès trademark, and the artist was ordered to pay $133,000 in damages.

Rothschild argued that his endeavor was a First Amendment-protected artistic expression, similar to Andy Warhol’s legal ability to create and sell art featuring Campbell’s soup cans.

In addition, the artist claimed he did not intentionally mislead consumers because he included disclaimers stating that he had no affiliation with Hermès.

However, the judge and jury rejected this argument, as the use of the word “Birkins” was questioned.

“The jury found that his decision to use Hermès’ trademarks in the name and design of the MetaBirkins NFTs—nnot just in his marketing and sales techniques—wwas explicitly misleading and rejected his disclaimer defense,” according to the court document.