Yuga Labs Wins $1.57M in Lawsuit over Bored Ape Yacht Club Copyright Violation
Summary:
Yuga Labs, creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), have won a lawsuit against NFT artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen over copyright infringement. A U.S. District Court Judge ordered the defendants to pay $1.37 million in disgorgement and $200,000 for cybersquatting violations. Yuga Labs was also granted recovery of its attorney fees and legal costs. The defendants' appeal arguing "free speech" was unsuccessful.
In a recent legal outcome, Yuga Labs, creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), have successfully won a copyright infringement lawsuit against NFT artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen. A district court judge in the United States has demanded that the artists pay $1.57 million in compensation and legal fees to the claimant.
The judgement on October 25 follows an earlier partial summary judgment in favor of Yuga Labs issued on April 21. The NFT company had accused Ripps and Cahen of breach of copyright laws by creating and selling replicas of its popular BAYC collectibles.
District Court Judge John Walter awarded $1.37 million to Yuga Labs, having reached the decision that the claimants were entitled to reap the accrued profits of the defendants. An additional fine of $200,000 was imposed for cybersquatting offenses.
The court also ruled that Yuga Labs could recover the expenses of legal representation and related costs from the defendant artists. This additional recovery was granted due to the case being exceptionally clear of trademark infringement.
The exceptional nature of a case leans towards the allowance of recovery of legal fees when one party engages in conduct fairly described as 'malicious, fraudulent, deliberate, or willful, the judge iterated'.
The court rejected the NFT artists' counterclaim that their imitated versions of BAYC were meant to be "satire" and "parody". Judge Walter ruled that the named defendants had purposely infringed upon Yuga's BAYC trademarks in order to gain a dishonest profit. Even after the initial judgement against them, the defendants had continued to advertise and sell their copycat BAYC variants.
The copyright infringement lawsuit against Ripps and Cahen was initiated by Yuga Labs in June 2022. During an appeal hearing on October 16, attorneys representing Ripps and Cahen argued that the lawsuit be dismissed on the basis of free speech protected under California's anti-SLAPP statute. Notably, the judges were not convinced by the argument presented.
As per current listings on OpenSea, a digital marketplace for NFTs, BAYC collectibles are one of the most prized. Since its inception in April 2021, it has amassed a trading volume of 1.32 million Ether (ETH) equivalent to $2.38 billion, with average prices standing at 27.4 ETH ($49,200), as cited by the platform.
Published At
10/27/2023 12:49:00 AM
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