Bored Ape Yacht Club maker Yuga Labs Inc. has settled a lawsuit against an NFT marketplace developer accused of duping consumers into buying counterfeit versions of its Bored Ape NFT. Yuga Labs filed separate lawsuits against developers Thomas Lehman and Ryan Hickman in January, claiming they were core members of a team recruited by concept artist Ryder Ripps to create a knockoff “RR/BAYC” NFT using the Bored Ape image and name.
In a statement emailed to Bloomberg Law, Yuga Labs said it reached a confidential settlement with Lehman and was "pleased that Mr. Lehman acknowledged his role in assisting former associates Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen in infringing Yuga Labs' trademarks." role” to develop, market and sell counterfeit NFTs. "
In a joint provision, the company and Lehman filed a proposed permanent injunction preventing him from using the BAYC mark or confusingly similar marks in any capacity, including those associated with RR/BAYC NFTs.
The proposed order also requires Lehman to destroy any material in his possession or control that publicly displays BAYC or similar markings, including any RR/BAYC NFTs in his possession.
"It was never my intention to damage the Yuga Labs brand, and I reject all disparaging remarks about Yuga Labs and its founders, and thank them for their many positive contributions to the NFT space," Lehman said in a statement.
The manufacturer of Bored Apes Yacht Club sued Ripps and Cahen in June 2022, alleging that Ripps defrauded consumers into purchasing counterfeit Bored Ape NFTs using Yuga Labs’ registered trademark. In December 2022, the artists appealed a Los Angeles federal judge's decision to dismiss their motion for an anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation to dismiss the lawsuit.
Ripps says his NFT is a protected free speech criticism of neo-Nazi and alt-right imagery, which he believes appears in the Bored Ape series, and Yuga Labs' lawsuit seeks to quell that criticism. The company's case against Hickman, Ripps and Cahen is still pending.
Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape NFT collection depicting images of cartoon apes has been wildly popular since its launch in 2021, with total sales exceeding $2 billion, with several celebrities including Justin Bieber, Madonna and Mark Cuban buying them NFT. Events such as the theft of Seth Green's Bored Ape have raised a host of legal questions about token ownership and the intellectual property that comes with it, 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 infringements backed by vicious and baseless lies, and applauds Mr. Lehman for rejecting them,” a Yuga Labs spokesperson said.
