Hermes Won in MetaBirkins NFT Case Now Mason Rothschild Wants To Interview Jurors, Schedule Set
By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell Book
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Feb 24 – Hermes has sued Mason Rothschild for using its Hermes Birkin name to market an NFT, MetaBirkins. Just added "meta" changes nothing, it says.
On April 8, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein held a proceeding. Inner City Press covered it.
Judge Gorenstein said that all fact discovery must be completed by August 9.
The parties say a trial would take five days.
On May 4, after the case was reassigned from Judge Alison J. Nathan, now on the Second Circuit, to Judge Jed S. Rakoff, an oral argument was held by Judge Rakoff. Inner City Press covered it. The defendant argued that its products are art.
Jump cut to November 18, 2022, with Judge Rakoff's courtroom and jury box nearly full for an oral argument in the case. Inner City Press went and covered it here and below.
On February 8, 2023, in the third day of jury deliberation, the verdict came in for Hermes, on trademark, dilution and cyber-squatting with no First Amendment defense found, $133,000 in damages.
On February 24, Judge Rakoff granted Mason Rothschild's motion to brief on interviewing jurors: "Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Jed S. Rakoff: Telephone Conference with both parties counsel present held on 2/24/2023, without transcription or recording. Further to this conference, first, the defendant is granted leave to file an opening brief on the issue of interviewing the jurors. The defendant should submit that letter brief, exceeding no more than five pages, by March 3, 2023. The plaintiffs have one week -- until March 10, 2023 -- to respond. Both parties may file these materials under seal. Second, Plaintiffs are also granted leave to file a motion for a preliminary injunction by March 3, 2023, and the defendant will have until March 10, 2023 to reply to such motion. Third, The application to delay adjudication of the attorneys fee issue until an appeal has been completed or the possibility of an appeal extinguished is granted. Fourth, the following schedule for the filing of post-trial motions is granted: March 14 for the filing of any motion, March 28 for responses to the motion(s), and April 4 for any reply papers regarding the motion(s)."
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