Yuga Labs, the company behind several of the most popular non-fungible token (NFT) collections, including the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, has claimed victory in its lawsuit against Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen and their Ryder Ripps Bored Ape Yacht Club (“RR/BAYC”) collection.
The dispute dates back to the summer of 2022, when Yuga Labs initially filed a complaint against the duo’s NFT collection, citing its high likeness to the original BAYC collection and the possible confusion it may cause among collectors.
The RR/BAYC NFTs would, in fact, be very similar or even exact duplicates of the BAYC NFTs, with the goal of using “satire and appropriation to protest and educate people regarding The Bored Ape Yacht Club.”
On April 21, 2023, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Yuga Labs owned the BAYC trademarks, leading it to win the lawsuit; nevertheless, no damages were awarded to the company.
Launched in 2021, the Bored Ape Yacht Club quickly became one of the top blue-chip NFT projects, still ranking in the top ten list of the most valuable collections of all time with an all-time volume of 1,247,035.01 ETH or around more than $2 billion.
Yuga Labs also stated in a tweet today that the BAYC NFT collection is celebrating its two-year anniversary, thanking the community and looking forward to what comes next.
