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Yuga Labs, the creator of the BAYC token, has resolved a trademark infringement lawsuit. The details of the settlement agreement have not been disclosed, but the lawsuit was related to the use of the BAYC name, which the plaintiff claimed was similar to their trademark. This resolution marks the end of legal proceedings and allows Yuga Labs to continue its operations without the risk of further legal action.
Yuga Labs, the creator of the blue-chip NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club, announced the resolution of the legal battle involving Thomas Lehman’s involvement in a marketplace selling “counterfeit” replicas of the company’s flagship collection.
Yuga Labs filed a trademark action against Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen in June, accusing them of stealing the company’s NFT collections and undervaluing the original Bored Ape products. They refuted the charges and filed a counterclaim.
Yuga Labs accused Lehman of being a “central part of a business venture which created and commercialized websites and a smart contract” to sell purposely misleading RR/BAYC NFTs to the average consumer. This, they claimed, was “textbook trademark infringement.” The issue was resolved today.
“I am happy to have resolved the Yuga Labs, Inc. v. Lehman trademark lawsuit in the Northern District of New York,” said Lehman in an emailed statement. “It was never my intention to harm Yuga Labs’s brand, and I reject all disparaging statements made about Yuga Labs and its founders and appreciate their many positive contributions to the NFT space.”
“We are pleased that Mr. Lehman acknowledged his role in assisting former cohorts, Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, to infringe on Yuga Labs’ trademarks by developing, marketing, and selling counterfeit NFTs,” a Yuga Labs spokesperson said.
After reaching a deal with Lehman, the NFT heavyweights, Ripps and Cahen, remain at odds. The pair filed a complaint against the firm at the end of December, claiming that the company lacks applicable copyright and that NFTs cannot be replicated technologically.
“We believe that creators, especially those in the nascent web3 space, must be able to rely on the law to protect their work against IP theft,” Yuga Labs disclosed in a statement.
