The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, famed for its comical photos of apes, has won a partial summary judgment in its court lawsuit against Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, the duo behind the satirical and critical response to BAYC known as RR/BAYC, CoinDesk tells us in a report.
NFT? BAYC?
The Bored Ape Yacht Club (Bored Apes, or BAYC) is a collection of 10,000 unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs) issued on the Ethereum blockchain. These NFTs feature cartoon apes with special features like clothing, fur, and eye color.
Each Bored Ape NFT's metadata includes information about the ape's attributes and background, making them one-of-a-kind digital artworks. Because the tokens exist exclusively on the blockchain, they are rare and unique, much like tangible art pieces.
Investopedia tells us that each Bored Ape token costs 0.08 ETH or $220 upon launch in 2021. By mid-October 2022, the value of a single token had skyrocketed to 76 ETH, or nearly $100,418.
Yuga Labs Wages Legal Battle Against RR/BAYC NFT
Yuga Labs filed the lawsuit back in June 2022, stating that Ripps and Cahen produced the RR/BAYC NFT collection with the intent of intentionally causing consumer confusion and generating millions of dollars in unjust profits by using marketing material similar to BAYC and using BAYC marks without a license.
Ripps and Cahen's assertions that BAYC NFT contains racist dog whistles, 4chan memes, and covert Nazi imagery were also denied by Yuga Labs.
US Court Reveals Decision
Coindesk first reported that a US court recently determined that Yuga Labs owns the BAYC trademarks, which are valid and enforceable.
Also, the decision highlighted that the defendants utilized the BAYC marks to sell RR/BAYC NFTs without Yuga Labs' agreement and in a "manner likely to cause confusion."
The court further held that the defendant's use of the BAYC marks was not a case of fair use or artistic expression because Yuga's BAYC marks were strong in the marketplace, and the RR/BAYC initiative was meant to mislead.
Yuga to Claim Damages
CoinDesk tells us that the court further determined that the domain names registered and used by the defendants (rrbayc.com and apemarket.com) have the potential to confuse, and the judge ruled that the defendants were participating in cybersquatting.
Although Yuga Labs contended that it should receive $200,000 in statutory damages for cybersquatting, the court dismissed this claim. It stated that the assessment of damages would be made during a forthcoming trial.
A Significant Victory for Yuga Labs
The verdict is a significant victory for Yuga Labs and the Bored Ape Yacht Club because it affirms the strength and enforceability of their trademarks and emphasizes the necessity of intellectual property protection in the NFT industry.
The verdict also establishes a precedent for future instances involving NFT collections and prospective imitators.
While some say that satirical NFT compilations serve as a kind of commentary and critique, others argue that they can harm and damage the original creators' reputation and financial success.
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