LVMH Sued Over NFT Watch Patent

LVMH Faces Lawsuit Over NFT Watch Patent

Luxury fashion conglomerate LVMH is being sued by Watch Skins Corporation for alleged patent infringement related to non-fungible token (NFT) display technology on smartwatches. The lawsuit, filed March 10th in a Texas federal court, claims LVMH's TAG Heuer brand, among others, illegally used Watch Skins' patented technology.

Watch Skins' Claims

Watch Skins alleges that TAG Heuer smartwatches, and other LVMH products, utilize its patented system for displaying verified NFTs on watch faces. The company holds three patents covering:

NFT verification: A system verifying NFT ownership before display.
Blockchain wallet integration: A system requiring verification through a blockchain wallet.
Customized watch faces: A system for retrieving and displaying customized watch faces based on NFT ownership.

Watch Skins further claims that TAG Heuer actively encouraged infringement by providing instructions on using its NFT display features. The complaint states, "The watch allows the NFT to be displayed if owned by the user’s crypto wallet [and] connects to a user’s crypto wallet to guarantee authenticity of works displayed."

TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4

The TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4, one of the watches implicated in the lawsuit. Source: TAG Heuer

The Scope of the Lawsuit

Watch Skins is seeking a jury trial, compensation for lost profits and royalties, and an injunction preventing LVMH from further use of the allegedly infringed technology. The company launched the world’s first blockchain NFT watch face marketplace at CES 2020, offering licensed smartwatch faces.

LVMH's Response

Cointelegraph has reached out to LVMH for comment. This is a developing story, and we will update this post as more information becomes available.

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