xQc, Hasan, more referenced in Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT lawsuit
❘ Published: 2022-12-29T05:25:00
❘ Updated: 2022-12-29T07:18:14
Top Twitch stars xQc, Hasan and MoistCr1TiKaL have been referenced in a counterclaim against Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT owners Yuga Labs, as part of a defense against a copyright infringement lawsuit surrounding a specific protest, RR/BAYC.
Some of Twitch’s biggest names have been dragged into a major lawsuit between NFT coiner Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and two people who started a protest “mint” to highlight alleged links between the project and “subversive Nazi troll culture on the internet” .
Yuga Labs sued Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen on June 24 for false advertising, trademark infringement and more.
While a judge denied the defendants’ initial filing almost in its entirety, pushing ten counts in Yuga Labs’ favor, the duo’s countersuit has thrown top Twitch streamers into the mix.
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This includes Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel, Hasan ‘HasanAbi’ Piker and Charles ‘MoistCr1TiKaL’ White. The trio, among other top content creators, have not been named as parties in the case, but rather referred to in the defense.
It built a narrative around the growing protest surrounding NFTs and BAYC in particular, noting that the stars were instrumental in getting the #BURNBAYC movement off the ground.
“Social media influencers and celebrity YouTubers have used the #BURNBAYC hashtag, which began trending the same week the RR/BAYC collection sold out,” the suit claimed. “The question of whether BAYC is racist has become a ‘viral debate’ and mainstream newspapers reported that #BURNBAYC is a ‘public opinion storm’ and ‘too big to ignore’.”
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But the mention made the named blind: “What’s going on?” Hasan asked on stream. “Am I going to court? What the hell?”
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Ripps, on his website selling the RR/BAYC tokens, claimed “through months of intensive research, I and other community members have discovered extensive connections between BAYC and the subversive Nazi troll culture on the internet.”
This led him to start the RR/BAYC project where “the original BAYC images are recontextualized – illuminating truths about their origins and meanings as well as the nature of the Web3 – the power of NFTs to change meaning, establish provenance and avoid censorship.
“RR/BAYC uses satire and appropriation to protest and educate people about The Bored Ape Yacht Club and the framework of NFTs. The work is an extension of and in the spirit of other artists who have worked in the field of appropriation art.”
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The new counter-filing appears to be rejecting Yuga Labs’ claims, as well as pushing for emotional distress damages. It remains to be seen whether the Twitch stars will be summoned to court.
