When the internet became mainstream in the mid-1990s, it created a spate of novel intellectual property (IP) issues that forced courts to decide how rules designed for the era of books and industrial machines should apply to things like web domains, online mash-ups, and smartphone technology. The IP rules of the internet eventually became a little clearer, but often it took years of waiting until the Supreme Court could get involved.
Now, something similar is playing out in the world of crypto and Web3. The latest example is a high profile case in the news this week involving Hermès, which claims an entrepreneur selling versions of its iconic Birkin bags violated the fashion house's trademark rights. The entrepreneur claimed he should be off the hook since his digital wares were protected by free expression in the same way as Andy Warhol's paintings of Campbell's soup cans. But the judge wasn't buying it—in part because text messages described him telling others the plan was to "pump" and "shill" the bags to "whales."
