Hermès seeks stronger block of MetaBirkin’s NFT sale

The luxury brand Hermès received a major feature legal victory last month against MetaBirkins, an NFT collection found to have infringed on trademarks protecting the French designer’s Birkin bag. But despite the ruling historical nature, Hermès is still not satisfied.

The luxury house filed a motion on Friday asking that the court issue a permanent injunction specifically preventing MetaBirkins creator Mason Rothschild from selling MetaBirkins NFTs again. Such a block would represent a more serious action against the NFT creator than what a jury in Manhattan previously ruled in early February.

“Despite the ruling in Hermès’ favor, Rothschild continues to promote MetaBirkin’s NFT sales through various social media channels and he will receive royalties from any such sales,” lawyers for the fashion giant wrote. “Rothschild’s past and present conduct demonstrates that he is likely to continue to infringe Hermès’ trademarks if a permanent injunction is not granted.”

Hermès’ lawyers argued that since February’s ruling, Rothschild remains in a position to profit from MetaBirkin’s NFT collection, while in the meantime continues to publicly speak out against the jury’s decision.

The company claims that these actions, in conjunction with Rothschild’s past conduct, have caused irreparable harm to Hermès, and cannot be remedied by standard financial compensation. Both allegations must be proven for an injunction to be imposed.

Indeed, Rothschild tweeted repeatedly in the days following the case’s verdict, blasting jurors for failing to find that his NFT collection had sufficient “artistic relevance” to be considered free speech.

But beyond defending the project’s artistic legitimacy, Rothschild doesn’t appear to have posted anything specifically directing followers to buy MetaBirkin’s NFTs after the ruling. In Friday’s filing, lawyers for Hermès primarily took issue with Rothschild’s repeated tagging of the MetaBirkins collection’s Instagram handle in posts.

Although MetaBirkins was banned from OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, the collection’s website is still active, as it is entry on NFT trading platform LooksRare. However, it does not appear that any Metabirkin NFTs have sold since December.