Yuga Labs, creator of the famous Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, has claimed legal victory in its trademark infringement case against Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen. A federal judge, in a pre-trial summary judgment, declared that Yuga Labs is entitled to an injunction and damages from the duo.
Yuga Labs described the court judgment as not a just triumph for them but “a win for the entire Web3 industry”.
BAYC Creator Yuga Labs Wins Copyright Case
The RR/BAYC NFT collection is a creation that contains identical copies of Bored Apes and used marketing material similar to that of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. According to Ripps and Cahen, the RR/BAYC NFT collection is merely a satirical and critical response to Yuga Labs. The duo claims that the Bored Ape NFTs depict racist and subtle Nazi references.
Interestingly, it appears that some parts of the NFT community share these sentiments about the Bored Ape collection. However, BAYC’s creators have never hesitated to shut down these claims, which they refer to as “conspiracies”.
Yuga Labs began legal action back in June 2022, filing a trademark infringement lawsuit against Ryder Ripps and his associate. The allegations claim they deceived buyers by selling NFTs that were falsely equivalent to the Bored Ape collection under the guise of satire, while also causing harm to the reputation of Bored Ape Yacht Club with their accusations.
The U.S. District Court in California found, on April 21, that Yuga Labs is the rightful owner of the BAYC trademarks, which are legitimate and enforceable. Moreover, it was determined that Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen utilized these trademarks without the consent of Yuga Labs, potentially causing confusion amongst potential buyers looking to purchase an authentic Bored Ape NFT.
Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen had previously argued that the RR/BAYC collection was only a parody and thus protected under the first amendment as a form of expression. However, Judge F. Walter, who presided over the case, ruled that their use of the BAYC trademarks does not fall under the category of fair use or artistic expression.
Damages To Be Decided At Trial
Although the court made it clear that “Yuga Labs is entitled to monetary damages and injunctive relief”, it denied the BAYC creators’ motion with respect to the determination of damages in their case.
According to the court’s ruling, the issue of damages will be determined during a trial. Yuga Labs had initially asked for a $200,000 statutory damage, but this claim was dismissed by the presiding judge.