Yuga Labs Settles Lawsuit with Developer Involved in Copycat BAYCs

The BAYC creators have reached an agreement with developer Thomas Lehman over his participation in marketing a knockoff collection of BAYC NFTs.

The author of the nonfungible token (NFT) collection Bored Ape Yacht Club has resolved a dispute with one of the developers of RR/BAYC, a copycat collection.

Yuga Labs resolved a case involving Thomas Lehman, the developer of websites and a smart contract that sold “misleading” BAYC NFTs from digital artist Ryder Ripps, on February 6.

In January, the company behind the blue-chip collection sued Lehman for his role in and technical assistance for the collection of imitation monkeys.

The suit claims that Lehman helped Ripps and Jeremy Cahen design and advertise the NFTs on social media. It was a “deliberate effort to hurt Yuga Labs at the cost of customers by spreading uncertainty” about the two collections, it alleged.

According to Law360, Yuga Labs and Lehman agreed to a permanent injunction prohibiting Lehman from using any “confusingly similar” BAYC graphics or operating any social media pages indicating involvement with the firm.

“It was never my aim to hurt Yuga Labs’ reputation,” Lehman stated in a statement, “and I reject all negative remarks made about Yuga Labs and its founders and appreciate their many good contributions to the NFT industry.”

A Yuga spokeswoman told Law360 that the company was happy that Lehman “acknowledged his involvement in enabling former cohorts, Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, to infringe on Yuga Labs’ trademarks in producing, marketing, and selling counterfeit NFTs.”

However, Ripps’ usage of photos from the BAYC collection is the subject of other ongoing proceedings. Jeremy Cahen has also been sued for allegedly duplicating and selling the same items as Yuga on the same sites.

Yuga sued Ripps and Cahen in June, stating that the artists were “trolling Yuga Labs and tricking consumers” into purchasing their knockoffs. The complaint also alleged that Ripps profited more than $5 million by “pumping and selling bogus NFTs.” On Jan. 30, investor rights law firm Rosen underlined that investors who acquired Yuga’s BAYC NFTs or its native token ApeCoin (APE) might join a securities class-action lawsuit against the company.

Rosen filed a lawsuit against Yuga Labs in December, accusing the company of breaking US securities laws by deceiving investors about the financial benefits of holding NFTs and tokens and employing celebrity advocates.