Bored Ape Yacht Club: Artists sentenced to multi-million dollar fine

Yuga Labs has won a trademark lawsuit over the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Two artists must pay the company US$1.6 million.

Yuga Labs, the company behind the NFT-collection Bored Ape Yacht Club, has won a copyright lawsuit. The two artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen must pay a total of $1.6 million, in addition to legal fees. Ripps marketed an NFT collection inspired by the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Yuga Labs sued for trademark infringement.

"The court finds for the foregoing reasons that Yuga is entitled to $1,375,362.92 in profits from the defendants, $200,000 in statutory damages, a permanent injunction as described herein, as well as attorneys' fees." said the court.

Yuga Labs filed the suit against the two artists in June 2022. Already in April, a speedy verdict fell in Yuga Labs' favor. The argument that it was a parody was again rejected by the court.

The relationship between Ryder Ripps and Yuga Labs has been cooling for quite some time. The artist caused a stir with a YouTube video in which he accused the Bored Ape collection of racism. The video has more than two million views.

However, the allegations have done little to diminish the status of the most famous NFT brand. Numerous stars such as Eminem, Madonna and Neymar are part of the exclusive Web3 club.

Demand for the NFTs has since dropped significantly. A Bored Ape currently costs an average of 27 Ether, which still amounts to $48,000 Last May, the record was 153 Ether.

Apecoin, the currency in the Bored Ape universe, has also lost ground in recent months. The cryptocurrency reached its highest point in April 2022 with a value of $26 Currently, the Ape price at $1.30, down 95 percent.