The trademark infringement trial between French luxury brand Hermès and digital artist Mason Rothschild is set to go ahead on Jan. 30 in a Manhattan federal court. The luxury brand accused the nonfungible token (NFT) artist of trademark infringement for promoting and selling MetaBirkins, an NFT collection said to be inspired by the group's Birkin bags. The trial and its related lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York can be first traced back to Jan. 14, 2022, when Hermès first filed a complaint against Mason Rothschild after the artist allegedly refused to stop …

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to bring cryptocurrencies under its scope and beef up its authority over the local cryptocurrency industry under new draft rules. According to a Jan. 25 report in local media outlet, the Manila Bulletin, the securities regulator put forward for public comment draft rules relating to financial products and services which also cover cryptocurrencies and digital financial products. The SEC said in a statement the draft rules will operationalize a newly signed law and give it “rule-making, surveillance, inspection, market monitoring, and more enforcement powers.” The guidelines expand the definition of a …

Is crypto lending dead, or does it just need better execution? That’s a question asked with more urgency in the wake of Genesis Global Capital Jan. 19 bankruptcy filing. That, in turn, followed the demise of other prominent crypto lenders, including Celsius Network and Voyager Digital in July 2022, and BlockFi, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late November 2022. Unlike many traditional creditors, like banks, cryptocurrency lenders aren’t required to have capital or liquidity buffers to help them weather hard times. The collateral they hold — cryptocurrencies — typically suffer from high volatility; thus, when markets plunge, …

Controversial law firm Sullivan & Cromwell is on track to reap a fortune from its work on the bankruptcy case of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, according to a new report. Sullivan & Cromwell’s costs in the FTX case are estimated to reach hundreds of millions of dollars before the firm’s bankruptcy investigation is over, Bloomberg Law reported on Jan. 27. As the FTX trial is scheduled for October 2023, the firm’s lawyers now have about eight months to untangle the complicated FTX case, which will cost a lot of time and money. Sullivan & Cromwell has more than 150 people …

Crypto proponents would be wise to keep their eyes on nonfungible token (NFT) and metaverse trademark applications this year, which are “reliable signals” of future-use plans. Speaking to Cointelegraph, intellectual property lawyer Michael Kondoudis said while many people may think big corporations are just jumping onto the NFT trend as a novelty, “it is not possible” to register a trademark in the United States with no intention to use it. Despite a relatively low cost for filing an application — ranging from $250 to $350 per class of goods/services — Kondoudis explained when a company submits a trademark application, it …

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is working on two papers to address fundamental legal risks in the crypto markets, such as the insolvency of crypto exchange firms, according to a statement released on Jan. 26. The initiative was motivated by the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and previous bankruptcy cases that “prompted a cascade of liquidity and solvency concerns across the crypto ecosystem.” Along with other things, the papers will offer guidance for market participants regarding crypto ownership and the role of intermediates in the event of bankruptcy. “The prospect of insolvency of a major market participant requires …

Lawyers representing FTX in bankruptcy court have reportedly argued that former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s immediate family should face questioning regarding their personal wealth. According to a Jan. 26 report from Bloomberg, FTX’s lawyers requested Judge John Dorsey in the District of Delaware allow them to question Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, and Gabriel Bankman-Fried — the father, mother, and brother of SBF, respectively — under oath about any financial benefits they may have received from the exchange. Other FTX executives could reportedly be subject to the same line of questioning in an effort to track down assets tied to the bankrupt …

A nonfungible token (NFT) collector is taking legal action against the OpenSea NFT marketplace for several allegations, including being locked out of his account for more than three months after being a victim of a phishing scam. OpenSea user Robbie Acres told Cointelegraph that after his NFTs were stolen through a phishing scam, he immediately reported it to the NFT marketplace. However, the NFT collector claims to have met a lot of difficulties. Acres explained that: “They took over 48 hours to respond, by which time the stolen assets had been sold as the buyer significantly undervalued them in prioritizing …

Mango Labs, the company behind the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Mango Markets has come out with its own lawsuit against exploiter Avraham Eisenberg. The Jan. 25 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleges Einseberg of exploiting its platform for millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies in October 2022. It asks for $47 million in damages plus interest starting from the time of the attack. It also asked the court to rescind an agreement made between Eisenberg and Mango’s related DAO and declare it to be “invalid and unenforceable.” The agreement was in …

Crypto-versed lawyers will play an increasingly important role in Web3 firms — particularly after the implosion of FTX and the industry braces for regulatory turbulence, two legal academics believe. Boston Law School professor and chief compliance officer at crypto exchange Bitstamp, Thomas Hook, told Cointelegraph that Web3 lawyers will soon become “business differentiators” because they’ll be faced with the tough task of helping firms navigate through legal and regulatory uncertainties. This will ultimately determine how fast firms can take their products and services to market, Hook explained: “Given the lack of clarity in many regulations and the complexity, Web3 companies …

In this week’s newsletter, read about how nonfungible token (NFT) sales reached 101 million in 2022. Learn how NFTs can be used to summon defendants who cannot be reached using traditional methods, and see how toys play a role in the NFT and Web3 ecosystem. Check out how Binance is tightening its rules on NFT listings, and don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring the resurgence of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s NFTs. NFT sales topped 101 million in 2022: DappRadar report A report published by decentralized app tracker DappRadar shows that NFT sales in 2022 reached 101 million, representing …

A judge overseeing bankruptcy proceedings for crypto lending firm Celsius Network has denied motions from three users with different claims on assets stuck since July. In orders filed with United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York on Jan. 25, Judge Martin Glenn denied a motion from Rebecca Gallagher, a Celsius claimant who argued her interest-bearing 'Earn' assets on the platform were “her property and not property of the bankruptcy estates” under the control of the debtors. The judge denied similar motions from Celsius account holders Mark Benzaken and Kulpreet Khanuja. Motions from the three individuals included …