A MetaBirkin bag put up for sale on OpenSea
The luxury brand Hermes has just seen its iconic Birkin bag reproduced in digital form and marketed by NFT (non-fungible token) technology without its approval under the name MetaBirkins. The sales of these digital bags were organised at the OpenSea market place, which specialises in the assets managed by blockchain. We find the sale of 100 units of MetaBirkins bags on OpenSea.
This sale was initiated by artist Mason Rotschild who made this series of images of Hermes bag using in particular fake fur. Mason Rotschild had previously made a "Baby Birkin" bag. The sale of the 100 NFTs took place without the approval of the Hermès brand. Quoted by the Financial times, Hermes states that "Hermes did not authorize or consent to the marketing or creation of our Birkin bag by Mason Rothschild in the metavern".
The luxury brand states that it has not yet entered the NFT market because it considers that it wishes to value "the tangible expression of physical objects produced by hand". For Hermes, this is a theft of his intellectual property. "these NFTs violate Hermes' intellectual property and trademark rights and are an example of fake Hermes products in the metavern," adds the luxury house. Artist Mason Rotschild himself was divested of his idea as digital copies of his own Hermes-inspired creations were put up for sale in the form of NFT.