We continue to monitor lawsuits that lie at the intersection of street art, fashion and advertising. Previous issues of Kattison Avenue and Katten Kattwalk have covered the risks that generally come with using street art on...more
On Friday, June 23, 2023, Judge Jed Rakoff issued a highly anticipated decision, permanently enjoining artist Mason Rothschild from selling “MetaBirkin” NFTs, which depict furry, digital versions of the Hermès signature...more
Not even the First Amendment could rescue VIP and its Bad Spaniels dog toy, as the US Supreme Court recently held that the Rogers threshold test for “expressive works” does not apply in trademark cases involving commercial,...more
In early 2023, a federal jury found an opportunistic meta-artist infringed on a luxury fashion house’s iconic handbag trademark. Digital artist Mason Rothschild created 100 unique “MetaBirkin” non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”)...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed dismissal of a trademark infringement lawsuit against the producers of MTV Floribama Shore in MGFB Properties, Inc. v. Viacom Inc., 54 F.4th 670...more
Luxury fashion brand Hermès sued Mason Rothschild in January 2022 alleging that the digital images underlying the non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) produced and sold by Rothschild depicting faux fur-covered Birkin handbags – the...more
In a closely watched trademark infringement case involving non-fungible tokens ("NFTs"), a jury found that the sale of digital images of Hermès's Birkin bags as NFTs infringed and diluted Hermès's trademarks....more
On February 8, 2023, a federal jury awarded Hermès International and Hermès of Paris, Inc. (“Hermès”) $133,000 in its trademark lawsuit against designer Mason Rothschild. Hermès sued Rothschild for selling non-fungible tokens...more
In a case with clear implications for non-fungible token art-based projects, a federal jury in the case of Hermès International, et al. v. Mason Rothschild, 1:22-cv-00384 (SDNY), found in favor of fashion brand Hermès in its...more
A nine-person jury in the Southern District of New York has found that "MetaBirkin" NFTs violate Hermès International SA's rights in its "Birkin" trademarks. This is the first trial to consider the intersection of NFTs and...more
Game Developer Dodges Loot Box Suit - In-app epi-games are not the same as slot machines, court says. Again with the Noises and Bright Lights - It’s been a while since we reported on defendant Supercell’s...more
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) serve as agile mechanisms to verify an underlying asset's authenticity and/or ownership linked with it. For now, minting NFTs to commercialize digital artwork on blockchain domain names continues to...more
Justices of the Supreme Court will soon put on their whiskey glasses to decide the proper tests for infringement and dilution claims involving humorous use of another’s trademark. The Court granted certiorari in November to...more
Sometimes, the best place to determine whether a work qualifies as art is in a courtroom. In a recent decision, Judge John H. Chun of the District Court for the Western District of Washington found that a driving simulator...more
The metaverse provides new opportunities to engross consumers in branded environments. A brand can, for example, produce an entire curated, virtual world for the consumer to explore. As a real-world analogy, such virtual...more
A New York federal court has ruled that a non-fungible token (“NFT”) for a digital image similar to a Birkin handbag may be an “artistic” work for purposes of determining whether the NFT infringes the Birkin trademark and...more
China, like the United States, is a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. As such, in general any literary or artistic work created in the US will also be protected in China....more
In a recent decision from the Southern District of New York, Judge George B. Daniels held that the strong First Amendment interests in protecting free artistic expression warranted summary judgment that Activision Blizzard’s...more
Did you ever wonder why some movies use fictional names for companies or sports teams? TV and movie producers intentionally avoid using brand or company names in order to avoid any potential of an entanglement with a...more
In a move that will likely benefit game developers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit explicitly held that First Amendment protection extends to use of third-party trademarks in the commercial promotion of an...more