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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) and the U.S. Copyright Office (“USCO”) submitted a joint study on non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) to Congress this week, which they based, in large part, on comments they solicited from interested stakeholders and members of the public through a Notice of Inquiry and three public roundtables. The Offices assert that they endeavored to examine “current and future applications of NFTs; how intellectual property laws apply to NFTs and assets associated with NFTs; intellectual property-related challenges arising from the use of NFTs; and potential ways to use NFTs to secure and manage intellectual property rights.” 

The Big Takeaway: The biggest takeaway from the report comes by way of the Offices assertion that they “do not believe that changes to intellectual property laws, or to the Offices’ registration and recordation practices, are necessary or advisable at this time” in light of the rise and adoption (and subsequent drop in popularity/value) of NFTs. The Offices and no shortage of commenters agree that “existing statutory enforcement mechanisms are sufficient to address the infringement concerns” (this will, of course, be of little surprise to TFL readers, as we have been covering this point (i.e., NFTs are not the wild west when it comes to IP rights) for several years now).

At the same time, the Offices stated that “product transparency and consumer education more appropriately address concerns that fall outside the realm of intellectual property laws.”

Some Litigation Updates …

> Reebok v. Autry: Autry lodged an answer to Reebok’s amended complaint & set out counterclaims of its own, seeking declarations of non-infringement of the TMs at the heart of Reebok’s suit. It argues, in part, that Reebok’s marks, including its window box, have been widely used across other brands’ sneakers. 

> Solid 21 Inc. v. Breitling USA: The 2nd Cir. upheld a lower court’s finding that Breitling did not infringe Solid 21’s TM rights when it used “Red Gold,” as it merely used the term to describe the color of its watches & not as an indicator of source. 

> Adidas v. Thom Browne: The parties lodged supplemental briefings reflecting on two questions posed by the court regarding Browne’s alleged “bad faith” failure to produce relevant emails during discovery. (Our timeline of developments/filings in that case can be found right here.)

> New York Times v. Microsoft, et al: The Times lodged a memo in opposition to OpenAI’s partial motion to dismiss, arguing that its direct © claim is timely, it sufficiently alleged a claim under the DMCA & that its unfair competition by misappropriation claim is not preempted by the Copyright Act. 

In some deal-making news this week …

• Lily AI, which specializes in AI solutions for retailers & brands, has raised $20M in a Series B-1 round. 

• AI-powered personalized shopping services provider FERMAT has raised $17M in a Series A round. 

• Frontnow, a startup that provides “scalable AI solutions for e-commerce,” has raised €3.8M in an extended Seed round. 

• Blockchain-enabled Web3 fashion start-up mmERCH has raised $6.4M in a Seed round. 

• Finboot, which enables companies to “seamlessly integrate blockchain into their value & supply chains,” has raised an undisclosed sum in a new round. 

• Miroglio finalized its acquisition of Trussardi in a deal that saw it pay €35M for the assets of the Italian luxury brand. 

• Style Capital will acquire a majority stake in Italian sneaker brand Autry from fellow Italian private equity firm Made in Italy Fund.

• Missoni has announced the acquisition of knitwear supplier Tricotex Srl. 

• Legal tech startup Legitify has raised €1.5M in a Seed round. 

  
  

– Julie Zerbo
Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Here are TFL’s top articles of the week …

1. Court Says No Art Exhibition for MetaBirkins-Maker in Hermès Case. A New York federal judge is not convinced that the inclusion of MetaBirkins artwork in a museum exhibition will not run afoul of the permanent injunction awarded to Hermès earlier this year.

2. EU Votes on Extended Producer Responsibility for Fashion Waste. The EU has set out to establish extended producer responsibility schemes to ensure that textile, clothing & footwear-makers cover the costs of re-use or recycling.

3. Got Questionable Climate Credentials? That Might Impact Your IPO. “The dispute surrounding JBS’s bid [for a public listing] highlights the connection between finance & various drivers of climate change.”

4. AI Act Gets EU Approval: What Companies Can Do Now to Prepare. “We finally have the world’s first binding law on artificial intelligence, to reduce risks, create opportunities, combat discrimination & bring transparency.”

5. Levi’s Lands Partial Win in Latest Round of Trademark Case Over Green Tabs. Levi’s  landed a partial win in the latest round of its TM case over another party’s use of the “GREEN TAB” brand name – along with little fabric tabs – on recycled denim products & services. 

6. Parliament Backs Anti-Greenwashing Legislation in the EU. The EU has backed a proposed bill that governs how companies should communicate & substantiate “green” claims in order to cut down on greenwashing in fashion and beyond. 

7. Our Running List of Key AI-Lawsuits is up to date. The newest lawsuit on the list: A copyright case waged against NVIDIA over the alleged use of ©-protected books in furtherance of the training of its NeMo Megatron models.

8. A Dive into the Dynamics of the First U.S. Climate Disclosure Rules. The most important reason for adding climate disclosure rules is that climate-related risks & emissions appear to be financially material info. demanded by investors.