Judge Rules Bored Ape Yacht Club Ripoff NFTs Violated Yuga Copyright

04/23 01:30

According to Coindesk, a U.S. court in California has handed Yuga Labs, the company behind the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, a legal victory in the form of a partial summary judgment in its case against Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen. The U.S District Court for the Northern District of California found that Yuga Labs owns the BAYC trademarks, which are valid and enforceable, and that the defendants used the BAYC marks – referring to the images – to sell RR/BAYC NFTs without Yuga Labs' consent and in a “manner likely to cause confusion”, with the similar product look confusing consumers intending to purchase an actual BAYC NFT or track their value with token tracking tools. In addition, the court ruled that the defendants' use of the BAYC marks was not a case of fair use, nor an artistic expression under something called the Rogers Test, because Yuga's BAYC marks were strong in the marketplace and the RR/BAYC project was intended to mislead. The court also determined that the domain names registered and utilized by the defendants – rrbayc.com and apemarket.com – have the potential to create confusion with the judge concluding that the defendant's actions are driven by a malicious intent to profit and the two are engaging in cybersquatting.
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