Yuga Labs Settles One Bored Ape NFT Trademark Lawsuit (1)
Bored Ape Yacht Club maker Yuga Labs Inc. settled its lawsuit against an NFT marketplace developer it had accused of tricking consumers into buying counterfeit versions of Bored Ape NFTs.
Yuga Labs filed separate lawsuits against developers Thomas Lehman and Ryan Hickman in January, alleging that they are key parts of the team enlisted by concept artist Ryder Ripps to create copycat “RR/BAYC” NFTs using Bored Ape- the pictures and the name.
In a statement sent to Bloomberg Law, Yuga Labs said it reached a confidential settlement with Lehman and is “pleased that Mr. Lehman acknowledged his role in helping former cohorts, Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, to infringe Yuga Labs ‘ trademarks in developing, marketing and selling counterfeit NFTs.”
In a joint stipulation, the company and Lehman filed a proposed permanent injunction that would prevent him from using the BAYC mark or confusingly similar marks in any capacity, including in connection with the RR/BAYC NFTs.
The proposed order would also require Lehman to destroy any material in his possession or control that publicly displays BAYC or similar marks, including any RR/BAYC NFTs that he owns.
“It was never my intention to harm Yuga Labs’ brand, and I reject any derogatory statements about Yuga Labs and its founders and appreciate their many positive contributions to the NFT space,” Lehman said in the statement.
The Bored Apes Yacht Club producer sued Ripps and Cahen in June 2022, claiming that Ripps defrauded consumers into buying fake Bored Ape NFTs by using Yuga Labs’ registered trademarks. In December 2022, the artists appealed a federal judge’s decision in Los Angeles to deny their anti-strategic public participation lawsuit to dismiss the lawsuit.
Ripps said his NFTs are protected free speech that criticizes neo-Nazi and alt-right imagery that he believes is featured in the Bored Ape collection, and Yuga Labs’ lawsuit was intended to quell that criticism.
The company’s cases against Hickman, Ripps and Cahen continue.
Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape NFT collection featuring images of cartoon monkeys achieved massive popularity after its launch in 2021, generating more than $2 billion in total sales with several celebrities purchasing the NFTs – including Justin Bieber, Madonna and Mark Cuban. The theft of Seth Green’s Bored Ape, among other incidents, raised a number of legal questions regarding ownership of the tokens and the intellectual property rights that come with them, some of which lawyers hope will be answered through ongoing litigation.
“Yuga Labs looks forward to holding Mr. Ripps and Mr. Cahen accountable for their wrongdoing supported by a campaign of vicious and baseless lies and appreciates Mr. Lehman’s repudiation of their actions,” a Yuga Labs spokesperson said.
Fenwick & West LLP represents Yuga Labs. Lehman is represented by Ethan Jacobs Law.
The case is Yuga Labs, Inc. v. Lehman, CCNDNY, No. 1:23-cv-00085, joint stipulation filed 2/6/23.
