Hermès won the trademark for their “MetaBirkin” in the NFT trial. YPulse research shows that a quarter of Gen Z and Millennials who’ve spent money in the metaverse say they’ve purchased brand name digital products in a virtual world. Plus, a third of young consumers tell YPulse they think they’ll someday shop for clothes / accessories in virtual worlds that’ll be shipped to them IRL—which means digital replicas could pose a major threat to brands. Just this week, a jury in New York concluded that after the long battle against Mason Rothschild, his “non-fungible token versions of Hermès’ famous Birkin bags violated the French fashion house’s trademark rights.” This trial is one of the first over the popular digital tokens and set an expectation for the future surrounding digital models of branded products, which was ultimately decided could confuse consumers. The luxury brand was rewarded “$133,000 in damages for trademark infringement, dilution, and cybersquatting.” (Business of Fashion)
