"The Baby Birkin NFT (from MetaBirkins) is even more exclusive than Hermès bags." said Highsnobiety.
Baby Birkin Bag from MetaBirkins
"MetaBirkins" NFTS (non-fungible tokens) based on the well-known Birkin bag from fashion house Hermès , have traded for 200 ethereum (about $765K) and making huge profit our of Birkin bag design.
But Hermès, whose original physical Birkin bags range from $9,000 to $500,000, said Rothschild was ripping off its designs and had infringed the company’s trademark.
“Hermès did not authorize nor consent to the commercialization or creation of our Birkin bag by Mason Rothschild in the metaverse,” the company said, adding that Hermès has not yet entered the NFT market because it values the “tangible expression of handcrafted physical objects”.
“These NFTs infringe upon the intellectual property and trademark rights of Hermès and are an example of fake Hermès products in the metaverse,” it added.
The decentralised nature of the NFT world means anyone can easily sell an image for thousands and claim it is theirs, a problem that has triggered widespread accusations of copyright infringement.
“The valuable IP is the original work, which you would argue is the Hermès bag,” said Colin Bell, head of intellectual property at law firm Brabners.
In theory, MetaBirkins is taking away revenue stream from Hermès if it wanted to market its bags as NFTs, he said. “The public could be confused and think the MetaBirkins are official.”
Similar occasions happened previously in Roblox Metaverse, where virtual fashion is finding an increasingly important home, users can accessorize their avatars by purchasing unauthorized luxury products, including Cartier Love bracelets, Supreme hoodies, and Chanel blazers.
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