Hermes and Birkin NFTs

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I'm just ruminating:

Crypto in general, Bit Coin FTX dived and NFTs fell too, most people are already bored or lost confidence IMO, all pyramid schemes crash, very very few people want to be end-users (hence why I think they're a pyramid scheme - even money launderers mist have got worried).

I don't think we should be surprised H won.

From what I can remember, music (also no tangible except on sound carriers) publishing/red. contracts usually state "throughout the Universe" and music can be written (notated) or recorded.
In France, songs (publishing ) are copyrighted by submitted as (notated) melody and written lyrics.

The only argument for NFTs to have been considered exempt in terms of trademarks, copyright and patents is that all separate territories have boundaries and there is no "throughout the Universe" equivalent for design (let me know if there is?)

Most design is now done digitally (CAD) and modelled 3D and therefore most new designs exist digitally before physically. Even a sketch (2D) which I'm sure was done of a Birkin, was not physical, but a representation of a bag, tangible only when 'bound' on paper. Therefore, initially designs are nearly always not in physical forms but digital/sketched. I know that Gucci had to submit sketches to Mod Brev. to register designs - not give in physical bags and presumably it's the same in most countries (when they operated singularly) and territories now.

The Metaverse is not outside Earth, and all territories (or entities contain within) are still bound by the laws that given. Slam, dunk.

This NFT was pretty shameless as it took a (copyright) design, built on shared recognition signifying high status plus using a family name 'Birkin' in tangent as part of its company name. There could be little doubt that this was a 'chancer's' way to make money from another's efforts and reputation.

Please debate, I'm happy to be educated further on all things Meta (and points of law)
 
Mason Rothschild (Sonny Estival) are appealing

https://www.businessoffashion.com/a...e-metabirkins-creator-isnt-done-fighting-yet/ (you will need a BoF account)

But basically:

The MetaBirkins Creator Isn’t Done Fighting Yet​

Mason Rothschild opens up about his recent loss to Hermès in court, why he believes he can win on appeal and the fate of the MetaBirkins themselves.

Mason Rothschild (Sonny Estival) stated: “There is no evidence that I explicitly misled anybody,” Rothschild said, pointing to the fact that he never stated publicly or privately that Hermès was behind the MetaBirkins." :lol: Told you!

The fact is without the recognisability (Global shared understanding) of the BIRKIN in name as part of the MetaBirkin name, and the shape and product type (image of a bag) there would be no buyers nor buyers.

This is not art IMO (if I'm allowed an opinion) this is exactly how con-artists operate. Totally sets out to deceive by configurations of closely aligned semiotics.
 
What I think may be lost in the rush to exploit and then consequently regulate the NFT/Meta space is the potential value of the underlying technology. As I understand it, incompletely to be sure, blockchain technology may help to solve the replica/counterfeit problem. But the current environmental effects may make that opportunity less attractive.
 
What I think may be lost in the rush to exploit and then consequently regulate the NFT/Meta space is the potential value of the underlying technology. As I understand it, incompletely to be sure, blockchain technology may help to solve the replica/counterfeit problem. But the current environmental effects may make that opportunity less attractive.

It's more about copyright, trademarks and the spirit of those laws than of NFTs. Certainly someone could be funding MetaBirkins that has a political agenda. As I wrote before, the Metaverse should not be treated as a new world or territory because all people who use it live on Earth (as far as we know) and are subject to their respective nations laws and trade agreements. Why should the space between our computers be different than the space between our phones or radio transmitters/antenna. Data is stored (on Earth) there are no 'clouds' except in the sky and in our heads.

There are different forms of blockchain technology but the main one is Aura Blockchain Consortium (LVMH, Prada, Cartier etc). It's a panacea at best and a Trojan-horse in terms of what it really means for luxury start-ups and competing business. Really blockchain tech is about monopolising supply chains and making sure they have data on products after-market. They are not doing clients any favours. If I buy an Hermes bag from H, I expect that bag to be H. As an after-market buyer I will have no access to blockchain information. If these companies can't tell if their own products from counterfeits, and think fakes could worked into their inventory, that's pretty damning of their quality.
 
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