NFT Creators Fined $1.57 Million in High-Profile Copyright Infringement Case
Summary:
A US district court judge has ordered NFT creators Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen to pay $1.57 million to Bored Ape Yacht Club's creator Yuga Labs, over copyright infringement and cybersquatting violations. Yuga Labs is also entitled to recover attorney fees and costs, marking an end to the long-standing copyright lawsuit. Despite the defense's claim of satire and parody, the judge ruled that the defendants intentionally infringed upon Yuga Lab's trademarks. Bored Ape Yacht Club is a significant NFT collectible, amassing transactions worth $2.38 billion since April 2021.
A local US judge has mandated NFT creators Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen to remunerate $1.57 million in compensation and legal charges to Bored Ape Yacht Club founder Yuga Labs, effectively concluding the long-drawn copyright violation lawsuit. The court's October 25th decision succeeds the April 21st partial summary judgement which sided with Yuga Labs. The defendants, Ripps and Cahen, were accused of infringe Yuga Labs' copyright by producing replicas of its Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collectibles.
Presiding Judge John Walter presented Yuga Labs with $1.37 million, deciding that they should receive a percentage of the defendant’s profits. A further $200,000 was prescribed as statutory damages relevant to online trademark abuses. Yuga Labs is additionally eligible to retrieve attorney fees and expenses from the defendants, since the Judge deemed this particular trademark violation suit an “exceptional case”.
Rejecting the defendant's claim that their recreations of the popular BAYC items were "satirical" and "parodic" in nature, Judge Walter condemned the perpetrators' willful violation of Yuga Lab's BAYC trademarks with the overt intention of monetary gain. Even after the partial summary judgment verdict in April, he noted, the defendants persisted advertising their imitative BAYC products.
Initially brought forward in June 2022, the suit saw Ripp and Cahen’s defense team argue on October 16th in a US appellate court, the entire lawsuit should be nullified on First Amendment grounds, citing California’s anti-SLAPP laws. However, the tribunal of three judges remained unpersuaded.
BAYC is a highly sought-after NFT collectible on the NFT marketplace, OpenSea. Since April 2021, it has generated 1.32 million Ether (ETH) or $2.38 billion in transactions with an average base price of 27.4 ETH ($49,200), as reported by OpenSea.
Published At
10/27/2023 12:49:02 AM
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