The popular Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs' creator, Yuga Labs, has filed a counterclaim in a lawsuit against an artist and his business partner for allegedly stealing their NFT collection's designs.
The company filed the lawsuit in June and accused Not Larva Labs CEO Jeremy Cahen and artist Ryder Ripps of stealing their NFT collections and undervaluing the original Bored Ape products. In their response to the complaint, the couple disputes the majority of the allegations. The court document from December 27 states that each of these NFTs is a record on a decentralized digital ledger and is entirely unique by design, rendering them non-fungible and challenging to duplicate.
A spokeswoman stated that:
“Our action holds Ripps and Cahen accountable for their clear and flagrant misappropriation of Yuga Labs’ trademarks. They actively misled consumers and profited millions by utilizing Yuga’s intellectual property to market and sell imitation NFTs. As the lawsuit develops, we will continue to substantiate these facts.”
Another lawsuit has also been filed against Yuga Labs. The California law firm Scott + Scott filed a class-action complaint against the company and more than 40 people and businesses, claiming that they were complicit in "a gigantic swindle" involving covert celebrity endorsements to promote products like BAYC. This was denied by a Yuga Labs representative.
