Yuga Labs Files Lawsuit Against NFT Artist, Ryder Ripps
- Yuga Labs runs one of the biggest NFT projects.
- NFTs were a huge blockchain trend in 2021.
Blockchain firm Yuga Labs, which is behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, has filed a lawsuit against NFT artist Ryder Ripps and his team for allegedly creating copycat works of Bored Ape. Yuga Labs claimed the digital artists were deliberately attempting to devalue the Bored Ape NFT and had been scamming users in the process.
Ripps is the artist behind the Ethereum NFT collection RR/BAYC, which includes similar BAYC artworks he did not buy. He reportedly began minting his copycat collection on May 13 and contested Yuga’s initial takedown complaint, prompting the start-up firm to withdraw its claim. OpenSea, an NFT marketplace, later erased Ripps’s collection from its platform; however, the artist had seen almost $3.5 million in volume transacted.
https://twitter.com/ryder_ripps/status/1540519187021430786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1540519187021430786%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdecrypt.co%2F103824%2Fyuga-labs-lawsuit-accuses-ryder-ripps-of-scamming-consumers-with-fake-bored-apes
Yuga Labs Wants the Court to Restrain Ryder and His Team
Yuga Labs claimed in its 43-page lawsuit that there are only 10,000 Bored Apes in existence, which are currently being used by prominent individuals. However, the blockchain firm feels Ryder’s act is geared towards devaluing its brand.
The lawsuit also demanded the court to order Ryder and his group to pay attorney fees and damages, as well as to stop them from acting against their brand’s interest. Yuga took to its Twitter page to assure its community of its stance against any form of infringement. It wrote:
The outpouring of support from our community today has been overwhelming. We will continue to be transparent with our community as we fight these slanderous claims. In order to put a stop to the continuous infringement, and other illegal attempts to bring harm to us and the BAYC community, we have filed a lawsuit against the responsible parties. We will continue exploring and pursuing all legal options at our disposal.
Ryder Accused Yuga Labs of Having Nazi Ties
Recently, Ryder caused a stir after it accused Bored Ape of creating NFTs with Nazi ties, an allegation that Yuga Labs has refuted with evidence. The project’s creators shared a blog post disproving such notions of racism against the Jews of any other race. The post noted that apes have been a term lightly used by many crypto users without any discriminating intentions.
Explaining why it chose its logo, the creators claimed that:
Everything about the BAYC was meant to convey a spirit of irreverence and absurdity.
Yuga Labs is one of the most well-known brands in the Web3.0 ecosystem. The BAYC collection is not its only investment in the NFT space. It presently holds the IP rights to the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections after purchasing them earlier this year. The team has been rolling out outstanding NFTs for its users as it plans to build a Web3 -focused media empire.
Despite the state of the crypto market, NFTs continue to attract the attention of new crypto users and are leading blockchain adoption in several nations. Although 2022 is far from the NFT boom of 2021, there are still multiple partnerships going on showing how active the industry remains.
Lawrence has covered some exciting stories in his career as a journalist, he finds blockchain-related stories very intriguing. He believes Web3 will change the world and wants everyone to be a part of it.
