Conceptual artist Ryder Ripps has been officially banned from using visual and branding elements of Yuga Labs. This development reveals that an agreement has been reached in the long-standing legal debate between the parties.
As the parties approach a compromise
In the documents submitted to the court on Tuesday, it was seen that steps were taken towards reconciliation between Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, and the other parties to the case, Ryder Ripps and his business partner Jeremy Cahen. Details of the agreement have not yet been shared with the public.
In 2022, Yuga Labs filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Ripps and Cahen for launching a project they called “RR/BAYC” using icons and characters from the original NFT collection. Ripps claimed that this project was an artistic work within the scope of freedom of expression.
Ripps also made accusations that there were discriminatory elements in the images contained in the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, but Yuga Labs did not file a separate lawsuit regarding the defamation charge. The company viewed Ripps’ moves as a kind of harassment campaign.
Important decisions in the legal process
In 2023, US District Judge John Walter ruled for trademark infringement on the grounds that similar NFTs created by Ripps and Cahen could create confusion in the market. Within the scope of this decision, the couple was ordered to pay approximately 9 million dollars to Yuga Labs. The amount in question included profit restitution, various penalties and legal consultancy fees.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit subsequently rejected most of Ripps’ fair use claims, but decided to vacate the summary judgment in favor of Yuga Labs and send the case to a jury. Thus, the payment obligation of 9 million dollars was removed. This decision set an important example that NFTs can be covered under brand protection.
While the possibility of reconciliation in the case was on the agenda, Yuga Labs requested additional sanctions from the court after Ripps claimed that he destroyed the private keys related to the RR/BAYC project.
Jeremy Cahen founded the NFT marketplace Not Larva Labs, inspired by the original developers of CryptoPunks. Yuga Labs also held the intellectual property rights of CryptoPunks for a while.
