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A United States district court judge has ordered nonfungible token (NFT) artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen to pay Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs a total of $1.57 million in disgorgement and damages, along with legal fees, bringing an end to the long-running \u201ccopycat\u201d NFT lawsuit.<\/p>\n
The Oct. 25 order<\/a> follows an April 21 partial summary judgement granted in favor of Yuga Labs after the firm claimed that Ripps and Cahen, the defendants, violated copyright laws by making copycat versions<\/a> of its Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collectibles.<\/p>\n District court Judge John Walter awarded Yuga Labs $1.37 million after concluding the NFT firm was entitled to a disgorgement of the defendants\u2019 profits. An additional $200,000 was awarded in statutory damages relating to cybersquatting violations.<\/p>\n Yuga Labs v. Ryder Ripps et al – Notes from the Court’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law<\/p>\n Yuga is awarded $1,375,362.92 in Ds profits, $200,000 in statutory damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs (amount TBD). A permanent injunction is also issued against Ds.<\/p>\n 1\/ pic.twitter.com\/2dTiuWpZSA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NeerMcD.eth (@NeerMcD) October 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Yuga Labs has also been entitled to recover attorney fees and costs from the NFT artists after the judge determined the trademark infringement constituted an \u201cexceptional case.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cA trademark case is generally considered exceptional for purposes of awarding of attorneys\u2019\u00a0fees when a party has taken positions that can be characterized as \u201cmalicious, fraudulent, deliberate or willful,\u201d the judge noted.<\/p>\n Judge Walter also knocked back the defendants\u2019 argument<\/a> that the copycat BAYC versions were \u201csatire\u201d and \u201cparody\u201d \u2014 ruling that the defendants intentionally infringed Yuga\u2019s BAYC trademarks with a bad faith intent to profit from them. <\/p>\n He also noted the defendants continued to market and promote their copycat BAYC versions after the partial summary judgement was delivered against them in April.<\/p>\n Yuga Labs filed the lawsuit against the two artists in June 2022.<\/p>\n In an Oct. 16 hearing in a United States appeals court, Ripps and Cahen\u2019s lawyers tried to argue the lawsuit should be thrown out<\/a> on the grounds of free speech under California\u2019s anti-SLAPP statute. However, the three-judge panel didn\u2019t appear persuaded by the lawyer\u2019s arguments.<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>NFTs aren\u2019t dead \u2014 they\u2019re just resting <\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n BAYC is one of the most valuable NFT collectibles on NFT marketplace OpenSea. <\/p>\n Since April 2021, it has amassed 1.32 million Ether (ETH)<\/a> or $2.38 billion in trading volume with an average floor price of 27.4 ETH ($49,200), according<\/a> to OpenSea.<\/p>\n\n