A U.S. District Court judge has ordered non-fungible token (NFT) artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen to pay Bored Ape Yacht Club founder Yuga Labs a total of $1.57 million in disgorgement and damages, as well as legal fees, ending a long-running dispute. Copycat” NFT litigation.
October 25 Order On April 21, Yuga Labs claimed that defendants Ripps and Cahen violated copyright law by creating knock-off versions of its Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collectibles, and subsequently issued a partial summary judgment in favor of Yuga Labs.
District Court Judge John Walter awarded Yuga Labs $1.37 million after determining that the company was entitled to return profits to the defendants. An additional $200,000 was awarded in statutory damages related to the cybersquatting violations.
Yuga Labs v. Ryder Ripps et al – Notes on the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law
Yuga was awarded D profits of $1,375,362.92, statutory damages of $200,000, and attorneys’ fees and costs (amount to be determined). A permanent injunction was also issued against Ds.
— NeerMcD.eth (@NeerMcD) October 26, 2023
After the judge determines that trademark infringement constitutes a “special case,” Yuga Labs also has the right to recover attorney fees and costs from the NFT artist.
The judge noted that “trademark cases are generally considered exceptional for purposes of payment of attorney’s fees when a party takes a position that can be described as “bad faith, fraudulent, willful, or willful.”
Judge Walter also rejected the defendant’s argument that the copycat version of BAYC was a “satire” and “imitation,” ruling that the defendant intentionally infringed Yuga’s BAYC trademark and maliciously profited from it.
He also pointed out that after partial summary judgment was granted to the defendants in April, the defendants continued to market and promote their copycat version of BAYC.
Yuga Labs filed a lawsuit against the two artists in June 2022.
At an Oct. 16 hearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals, attorneys for Rips and Kahn sought to dismiss the lawsuit on free speech grounds under California’s anti-SLAPP statute. However, the three-judge panel did not appear to be convinced by the lawyers’ arguments.
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BAYC is one of the most valuable NFT collectibles on the NFT market OpenSea.
Since April 2021, it has accumulated 1.32 million ETH (ETH), or $2.38 billion in trading volume, with an average floor price of 27.4 ETH ($49,200), according to to the open sea.
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