Yuga Labs, creator of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT kit, has claimed legal victory in its trademark infringement case against Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen. Federal judge, in a Summary judgment before trialannounced that Yuga Labs is entitled to an injunction and damages from the duo.
Yuga Labs described the court’s ruling as not just a victory for them but “a win for the entire Web3 industry”.
BAYC’s Yoga Labs won the copyright case
The RR/BAYC NFT set is a creation containing mirrored Bored Apes and used marketing materials similar to those of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. According to Ripps and Cahen, the RR/BAYC NFT cluster is just a sarcastic and critical response to Yuga Labs. The duo claims that Bored monkey NFTs depict racist and subtle Nazi references.
Interestingly, some parts of the NFT community seem to share these sentiments about the Bored Ape collection. However, BAYC’s creators have never hesitated to shut down these allegations, which they refer to as “conspiracies.”
Yuga Labs began the legal action in June 2022, filing a trademark infringement lawsuit against Ryder Ripps and his partner. Allegations allege that they deceived buyers by selling NFTs that were falsely equivalent to the Bored Ape Collection under the guise of mockery, while also causing reputational damage to the Bored Ape Yacht Club with their accusations.
On April 21, the US District Court in California found Yuga Labs to be the rightful owner of BAYC’s trademarks, which it deemed legitimate and enforceable. Furthermore, it was determined that Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen used these trademarks without Yuga Labs’ approval, which could cause confusion among potential buyers looking to purchase a genuine Bored Ape NFT.
Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Kahn have previously argued that the RR/BAYC combo was merely a parody and thus protected by the First Amendment as a form of expression. However, Judge F. Walter, who presided over the case, argued that their use of BAYC’s trademarks did not fall under the category of fair use or artistic expression.
Damages are decided at trial
Although the court made it clear that “Yuga Labs is entitled to pecuniary and injunctive damages,” it rejected BAYC’s creators’ motion regarding the limitation of damages in their case.
According to the court ruling, the issue of compensation will be decided during the trial. Yuga Labs had initially sought $200,000 in statutory damage, but that claim was denied by the presiding judge.
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