Artists Ripps and Cahen Ordered to Pay $9M to Bored Ape Creator Yuga Labs in Copyright Battle
Summary:
Artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen have lost their counterclaim against Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs, leading to an order to pay $9 million in damages and costs. The ruling stems from a copyright violation lawsuit where Ripps and Cahen were found to have created unauthorized versions of Bored Ape Yacht Club's non-fungible tokens. In response to this loss, the duo plans to appeal the decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of California.
Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, celebrated artists, have faced a setback in their lawsuit contention with Bored Ape Yacht Club creator, Yuga Labs, as their counterclaims were dismissed, leading to a staggering $9 million in punitive and statutory damages. In April 2023, it was reported by Cointelegraph that the courtroom decision favored Yuga Labs for their legal claim against Ripps and Cahen for transgressing copyright regulations by producing unauthorized variations of Bored Ape Yacht Club's (BAYC) non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Ripps and Cahen had earlier played around with the well-established BAYC brand name, coming out with the Ryder Ripps BAYC (RR/BAYC) collection in May 2022. Consequently, they were directed to pay $1.57 million as damages to Yuga Labs, in addition to shouldering the legal costs, ostensibly concluding the legal proceedings. However, a recent legal document dated February 2 reveals that their counterclaims have been turned down by the court.
As a stipulation of the ruling, Ripps and Cahen have been ordered to pay almost $9 million in order to defray attorney charges, professional witness costs, and disgorgement. Moreover, they have been mandated to eliminate any RR/BAYC NFTs that they might currently own. Cahen, widely followed on X by 174,100 subscribers as Pauly0x, publicized their plan to challenge the ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court of California via a post.
The duo levelled allegations against Yuga Labs for deliberate infliction of emotional uproar, casual infliction of emotional disarray, and requisition for a declaration of no libel. Yuga Labs' first and third line of action against Ripps and Cahen that asserted false origin destination and cybersquatting - profit-motivated purchase of domain names - was upheld by the judge, mentioning the multi-million dollar fine in particular.
In other related news, Yuga Labs' co-founder distinguishes comeback rumours amidst a continuing health break. In addition, Ripps and Cohen are mandated to surrender all the social media accounts linked with RR/BAYC NFTs, inclusive of the smart contract. All other contravening materials in their control or ownership such as NFTs, articles, software, promo items, or advertisements using any BAYC Mark need to be eradicated as per the legal filing.
Published At
2/4/2024 8:40:37 AM
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