Artists Ryder Ripps Seek to Overturn $8.8 Million Judgment in Yuga Labs NFT Trademark Lawsuit
On Monday, February 12, 2024, Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen filed a notice of appeal in their trademark lawsuit against Yuga Labs.
Ripps and Cahen were found liable for trademark infringement and cybersquatting related to their “Ryder Ripps Bayc” or “RRBayc” non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which imitated the popular “Bored Ape Yacht Club” NFT collection owned by Yuga Labs. In October, after a two-day bench trial, U.S. District Judge John Walter issued a decision outlining his findings of fact and conclusions of law in the case.
Judge Walter ultimately found that Ripps and Cahen’s use of the BAYC trademarks to promote their competing NFT collection was likely to cause confusion among consumers. He concluded that Yuga Labs was entitled to equitable relief for its claims of false designation of origin and cybersquatting under the Lanham Act.
In his final judgment on February 2nd, Judge Walter ordered Ripps and Cahen to pay over $8.8 million to Yuga Labs, including $1.3 million in profits from sales of their NFTs that were disgorged and $200,000 in statutory damages for cybersquatting. They were also permanently enjoined from further infringing Yuga’s trademarks and using the BAYC marks to sell any related products.
However, Ripps and Cahen are now seeking to overturn Judge Walter’s rulings on appeal. In their notice,, they indicated they would appeal both the final judgment and several underlying orders, including the partial summary judgment ruling from April that found Yuga Labs was entitled to judgment as a matter of law on its liability claims.
The appeal, if allowed to proceed, means the high-profile NFT dispute will continue dragging on between the parties in the Ninth Circuit for the foreseeable future. It remains to be seen whether the appellate court will agree to review any aspect of Judge Walter’s thorough decisions in the case thus far. But for now, Ripps and Cahen are refusing to accept defeat in their legal battle with Yuga Labs over trademark rights related to Bored Ape NFTs.
Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.