- The NFT lawsuit against Bored Apes and Ryder Ripps Is being assessed by attorneys.
- Yuga claims trademark infringement by Ripps, Jeremy Cahen, and others.
- The outcomes of the lawsuit may allegedly not be enough to totally remove dishonest behavior.
A group of defendants, including Ryder Ripps, are being sued by the company that is responsible for the popular collections of Bored Ape Yacht Club (“BAYC”) tokens in a headline-making trademark case according to Bloomberg Law.
The company is accusing Ryder Ripps and the other defendants of “trolling Yuga Labs and scamming consumers into purchasing RR/BAYC NFTs by misusing Yuga Labs’ trademarks.”
In the complaint that Yuga Labs submitted to a federal court in the state of California on June 24, the company asserts that Ripps, Jeremy Cahen, and a number of other affiliated defendants are liable for trademark infringement.
They are also liable for false designation of origin, cybersquatting, and conversion for developing and selling NFTs that bear “the very same trademarks that Yuga Labs uses to promote and sell authentic BAYC NFTs.”
Yuga Labs claims that Ripps has made “millions of ill-gotten profits from these sales” (an estimated $5 million) while using its trademarks to promote “the imminent launch of an entire NFT marketplace called ‘Ape Market’ solely to sell tainted copies of the Bored Ape NFTs.”
Yuga alleges that the defendant engaged in trademark infringement under common law, false designation of origin and false advertising in violation of the Lanham Act, cybersquatting, conversion, unjust enrichment, violations of the California Business and Professions Code, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.
According to reports, Yuga Labs will continue to be an important company to keep an eye on. The results of these and similar cases may not be enough to completely eradicate unscrupulous actors, but the threat of expensive litigation may be enough to deter them, so assisting NFT ventures in gaining legitimacy in the eyes of customers.
