Yuga Labs, Inc. v. Ripps, et al.
Overview
Filed June 24, 2022 in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California.
Summary: Yuga Labs is the creator behind the most well-known NFT project to date: the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of 10,000 NFTs of apes in various costumes and poses. Ryder Ripps, an artist, alleged that the team behind Yuga had neo-Nazi sympathies, and he created a mirror image of the BAYC NFTs called RR/BAYC, which Ripps described as “a protest against and a parody of” BAYC. Yuga sued Ripps and his business partner Jeremy Cahen for trademark infringement and related claims.
Status: In October 2022, Ripps and Cahen filed an anti-SLAPP motion—which seeks to dismiss lawsuits involving protected speech on a matter of public concern—and a motion to dismiss. Two months later, the judge entered an order on the motions almost entirely in favor of Yuga. This wasn’t a ruling on the merits of the case, but rather one that simply allowed Yuga’s lawsuit to continue to discovery. The defendants appealed the denial of the anti-SLAPP motion, but not the denial of the MTD. On December 27, 2022, the defendants also filed their answer and counterclaims to the Complaint. A few weeks later, Yuga filed their own anti-SLAPP motion and motion to dismiss the defendants’ counterclaims, which the court granted in full, except it denied Yuga’s motion to dismiss the defendants’ first counterclaim for knowing misrepresentation of infringing activity.
The defendants asked the court to stay the case until they finished appealing the denial of the anti-SLAPP motion, but that motion was denied. Yuga’s motion for summary judgment was granted by the court on April 24, 2023—it found in favor of Yuga’s claims for false designation of origin and cybersquatting, and granted summary judgment against defendants’ affirmative defenses under the First Amendment, fair use, unclean hands, and defendants’ counterclaim of knowing misrepresentation of infringing activity. The only portion of Yuga’s motion that was denied was its request for damages, which the court said would be determined at trial.
After a further narrowing of the case, the judge released his opinion on the remaining issues on October 26. He awarded Yuga $1.4 million in disgorgement of profits, $200,000 in statutory damages, a permanent injunction, and attorneys’ fees and costs. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the court’s denial of the defendants’ anti-SLAPP motion on October 30.
Bottom Line: One of the more interesting thing about this case is what isn’t included in Yuga’s complaint: claims for copyright infringement. Someone who wants to bring a copyright claim must register the copyright beforehand. But between the logistical and financial challenge of registering 10,000 images with the Copyright Office, potential authorship issues, and the unclear terms of the BAYC license agreement, bringing copyright claims may have been more trouble than it was worth.
Docket
Selected filings from the docket, available for free, are below. The full docket can be accessed via Court Listener.
6/24/2022 - Complaint and Exhibit A to Complaint
9/6/2022 - Response to Order to Show Cause and Supporting Declaration
9/26/2022 - Order
10/3/2022 - Ripps’ Anti-SLAPP Motion to Strike and Motion to Dismiss
10/17/2022 - Yuga’s Opposition to Motion to Strike and Motion to Dismiss and Objections to Ripps’ Evidence
10/20/2022 - Joint Rule 26(f) Report
10/21/2022 - Scheduling and Case Management Order and Order Vacating Scheduling Conference, Referral to Private Mediation, and Dismissing Any Unserved Doe Defendants
10/24/2022 - Ripps’ Reply ISO Anti-SLAPP Motion to Strike and Motion to Dismiss
12/16/2022 - Order re Anti-SLAPP Motion to Strike and Motion to Dismiss
12/21/2022 - Notice of Appeal
12/27/2022 - Defendants’ Answer, Defenses, and Counterclaims to Complaint
1/18/2023 - Yuga’s Motion to Strike and Motion to Dismiss Counterclaims
2/6/2023 - Defendants’ Opposition to Yuga’s Motion to Dismiss
2/13/2023 - Yuga’s Reply ISO Motion to Strike and Motion to Dismiss and Exhibit 2 (Decl. of Thomas Lehman)
2/23/2023 - Defendants’ Motion to Stay Proceedings
3/6/2023 - Yuga’s Opposition to Motion to Stay Proceedings
3/13/2023 - Defendants’ Reply ISO Motion to Stay
3/15/2023 - Yuga’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Statement of Uncontroverted Facts and Conclusions of Law
3/17/2023 - Order Granting Yuga’s Motion to Strike and Granting in Part and Denying in Part Yuga’s Motion to Dismiss
3/30/2023 - Order Denying Defendants’ Motion to Stay
3/31/2023 - Yuga’s Response to Defendants’ Counterclaims
3/31/2023 - Yuga’s Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs
4/17/2023 - Yuga’s Reply ISO Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs
4/24/2023 - Order Granting-in-Part and Denying-in-Part Yuga’s Motion for Summary Judgment
5/22/2023 - Order Denying as Moot Yuga’s Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs
7/17/2023 - Yuga’s Trial Brief
7/17/2023 - Defendants’ Trial Brief
10/26/2023 - Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
10/30/2023 - U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Memorandum
11/20/2023 - Joint Statement re Yuga’s Attorneys’ Fees and Costs
11/28/2023 - Order re Attorneys’ Fees and Costs
1/12/2024 - Report & Recommendation of Special Master re Attorneys’ Fees and Costs
1/24/2024 - Order re Attorneys’ Fees and Costs
2/3/2024 - Final Judgment
2/6/22024 - Order
3/8/2024 - Yuga’s Response to Defendants’ Declarations
3/11/2024 - Defendants’ Reply re Defendants’ Declarations