Reports showed that Yuga Labs, the creator of the world’s largest NFT collection–Bored Ape Yacht Club, recently won a copyright infringement case against Ryder Ripps. In addition, Yuga Labs won on all counts, as per the report.
According to the report, Yuga Labs filed a copyright infringement case against the RRBAYC NFT collection Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen last summer. The accuser claimed that the defendant created an NFT collection that has significantly similar attributes to its BAYC non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles.
The US-North District Court presiding over the case reportedly agreed with the prosecutor’s motion as it found Ryder Ripps and his partner guilty of all the charges leveled against them. According to the court, the copycats intended to point out the irregularities of the Yuga Labs NFTs by creating a duplicate.
Furthermore, the court said the offender misused the BAYC trademark in a way that defies true artistic expression. Additionally, the court stated that the defendants are guilty of presenting a false location of origin for its RRBAYC, rendering the freedom of speech claims by the copycats irrelevant to the case.
Court Calls Ryder Ripps NFT collectibles Malicious
After finding Ryder Ripps and his partner guilty of the case, the court tagged their collection, RRBAYC a malicious NFT collection created to make a profit. Also, the court found striking similarities between the BAYC and RRBAYC NFT projects such that it is enough to confuse customers.
In addition, the court pointed out the cybersquatting domain names that represent the two projects’ marketplaces namely apemarket.com for Yuga Labs and rrbayc.com for the copycats. Siding with Yuga Labs, the court claimed that Ryder Ripps only created his marketplaces after Yuga Labs had already registered and launched its BAYC NFT collectibles.
The news caused a stir in the NFT space when it was made public. Many digital assets enthusiasts commented on the case. For instance, Ash Kermen, an intellectual property advocate stated that Yuga Labs’ victory was a landslide win for Ryder Ripps and his partner, as the defendants’ free speech claims were declined.
In addition, Jessica McDonald, a legal representative of Yuga Labs over the case termed the court’s decision a big win for its client. She added that Yuga Labs would have the approval to file for damages after the trial.
Court Said NonFungible Tokens Are Digital Goods
The question about the status of NFTs as goods or securities has been bothering crypto enthusiasts for a long time, eluding all answers. However, during the court case between Yuga Labs and Ryder Ripps, the presiding court offered its takes on the question.
According to the court’s document, Non-fungible tokens are goods and not securities. During the case, Ripps said the BAYC collectibles are non-tangible goods and hence should not be recognized by the Lanham Act. However, the court claimed that NFTs are not securities but digital goods.
Therefore, the court faulted Ripps for representing the collection without obtaining consent from Yuga Labs. while the court ruling might appear casual, many NFT investors have started using the court’s decision as a reference to call NFTs virtual collectibles.
Commenting on the case, Yuga Labs stated that its victory in the case was a huge win for the Web3 ecosystem. Also, the victory sparked a positive trend for the brand which has been experiencing a massive decline since the court case started about 90 days ago.
