BAYC copycat files opposition to 10 Yuga Labs trademark applications

One of the founders of the Bored Ape Yacht Club copycat NFT postulation RR/BAYC has filed an absorption announcement against 10 trademark applications from Yuga Labs.

The determination marks different unusual twist successful the ongoing intellectual spot dispute betwixt BAYC creators Yuga Labs and RR/BAYC founders Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen.

Cahen filed the absorption announcement to the US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board connected Feb. 9. The absorption presumption connected each of the trademark filings presently read “pending” astatine the clip of writing.

Yuga Labs’ trademark applications were mostly submitted successful the second fractional of 2021, and screen a clump of BAYC logos, artwork and branding for imaginable usage crossed integer products specified arsenic NFT-based art, trading cards and Metaverse wearables.

The filings besides database the imaginable for carnal BAYC products including clothing, jewelry, watches and keychains, on with amusement services specified arsenic gaming, tv and music.

Opposition example: USPTO

Speaking with Bloomberg Law connected Feb. 11, a Yuga Labs spokesperson played down the chances of Cahen’s absorption being palmy and suggested that the determination was conscionable different effort to origin occupation for the firm.

“The Trademark Office has preliminarily approved Yuga Labs’ trademark applications for registration, and we look guardant to their afloat support successful owed course,” they said, adding that:

“Jeremy Cahen’s filing is conscionable different effort to distract from the existent contented astatine hand, his infringement of the Yuga intelligence property.”

In the notice, Cahen puts guardant a lengthy database of “grounds for opposition” against Yuga Labs’ filings. In particular, Cahen claims that the institution “abandoned immoderate rights” to definite logo and artwork designs owed to BAYC NFT income granting “all rights” of the integer images to the owners.

He besides claims that Yuga Labs is not the rightful proprietor of circumstantial skull designs owed to the steadfast supposedly handing implicit the rights to the ApeCoin decentralized autonomous enactment (DAO) backmost successful March 2022.

Additionally, Cahen argues that Yuga Labs failed to supply a “bona fide intent to lawfully use” the trademarks successful its filings arsenic the NFTs should beryllium registered and classified arsenic securities nether national law.

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BAYC creators Yuga Labs sued integer creator Ryder Ripps and Cahen backmost successful June for utilizing BAYC imagery successful the RR/BAYC collection. The steadfast besides alleged that the duo were intentionally “trolling Yuga Labs and scamming consumers” into purchasing their copycat NFTs.

The determination from Cahen besides comes conscionable 3 days aft Yuga Labs settled a abstracted lawsuit against RR/BAYC website and astute declaration developer Thomas Lehman.

As portion of the settlement, Lehman fundamentally agreed to a imperishable injunction barring him from partaking successful immoderate “confusingly similar” BAYC-related projects. In a statement, Lehman besides distanced himself from Ryder Ripp and Cahen.