Trademark War Over MetaBirkins NFTs Continues

MetaBirkins artist Mason Rothschild is disputing his Hermès non-fungible token (NFT) copyright infringement ruling by questioning an earlier ruling.

Rothschild’s lawyer argues that a California judge incorrectly ruled that artist Ryder Ripps violated the Bored Apes’ trademark.

Hermès Lawyers Dismiss Intangible Goods Argument

The artist maintains that the intangibility of his Hermès MetaBirkin bag NFT precludes it from falling under the Lanham Act, the piece of legislation governing copyright infringement.

He disputes the recent ruling that Ripps illegally copied Bored Ape NFTs, which, despite being intangible, are still goods with respect to the Lanham Act.

He argues that the ruling from a Dastar Corp vs. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp case in 2023 confirmed that the Lanham Act only applies to confusion about the origins of tangible goods, excluding art.

“Yuga Labs’ use of the ‘Bored Ape’ mark identifies the creators of the Bored Ape images; the NFTs convey unique ownership of the image. Nothing about the use of that mark conveys information about the NFT as a tangible thing, only its relation to an intangible artwork.”

Hermès lawyers said that Rothschild simply reiterates arguments a California court previously rejected regarding the Bored Ape case. The plaintiff noted that Rothschild’s view of the trademark would allow widespread infringement.

In February, the firm originally convinced a New York jury that Rothschild violated intellectual property laws.

Last Month, U.S. District Judge John Walter ruled that Ripps and Jeremy Cahen broke federal laws by appending the Bored Ape logo to sell copycat NFTS.

Yuga Labs accused the duo of earning $500 million through a pump-and-dump scheme selling fake Bored Ape tokens. The pair built social media confidence in the collection using Yuga Lab’s trademarks.

Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs are a high-profile collection of cartoon apes that became a status symbol during the 2021 crypto bull market.

Though interest has since cooled, the collection has recorded $2.8 billion in sales volume since its inception.

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