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- Yuga Labs asserted that the RR/BAYC initiative was “scamming” consumers.
- However, the U.S. District Judge dismissed Yuga Labs’ plea for “enhanced damages.”
A federal court issued a ruling late Friday in a pre-trial summary judgment regarding a trademark infringement case, determining that Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) creator Yuga Labs is entitled to an injunction and damages against Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen for their imitation RR/BAYC NFT collection. Yuga Labs characterized the ruling as a “landmark legal victory for Web3.”
Cahen and Ripps contended that their RR/BAYC project, which featured carbon copies of the original Bored Ape Yacht Club profile pictures (PFPs), was a parody safeguarded by the First Amendment and that the actions taken by Yuga Labs were “frivolous.”
First Amendment and Fair Use Arguments Rejected
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Yuga Labs has consistently refuted claims that the Bored Ape Yacht Club artwork contains any racial symbols or implications, despite ongoing allegations from Ripps and others. Ripps was described as a “demented troll” by co-founder Wylie “Gordon Goner” Aronow in a blog entry from the summer of 2022.
In addition, Yuga Labs alleged that the RR/BAYC project was “scamming” customers by providing NFTs that were not genuinely similar, all in a “deliberate effort to harm Yuga Labs at the expense of consumers.”
The court’s ruling included findings both in favor of and against Yuga Labs. The court ruled in favor of Yuga Labs, determining that Ripps and Cahen had engaged in “false designation of origin,” and rejected the defendants’ First Amendment and fair use defenses.
The court also sided with Yuga Labs when the defendants argued that the company had “unclean hands” and intentionally misrepresented the infringing actions. U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, however, denied Yuga Labs’ request for “enhanced damages” in what it termed an “exceptional case,” as the company sought specific amounts to be determined in court.
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