The creator of the non-fungible token pool, Bored Ape Yacht Club, has settled a lawsuit with one of the developers behind an imitation pool known as RR/BAYC.
On February 6, Yuga Labs settled a lawsuit involving Thomas Lehman, a website and smart contract developer who sold “misleading” BAYC NFTs from digital artist Ryder Ripps.
The company behind Super Kit sued Lehman in January for its involvement in providing technical support for the fake monkey kit.
According to the lawsuit, Lehman Ripps and Jeremy Cahen helped develop and promote the NFTs on social media. She claimed that this was a “deliberate effort to harm Yuga Labs at the expense of consumers by sowing confusion” regarding the two groups.
In the settlement, Yuga Labs and Lehman agreed to a permanent injunction banning Lehman from using any “confusingly similar” BAYC images or operating any social media accounts that suggest an affiliation with the company, according to Law360.
In a statement, Lehman said: “It was never my intention to harm the Yuga Labs brand, and I reject all disparaging statements made about Yuga Labs and its founders and appreciate their many positive contributions to the NFT field.”
Speaking to Law360, a Yuga spokesperson said the company is pleased that Lehman “acknowledged his role in helping former co-stars, Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, infringe Yuga Labs’ trademarks in developing, marketing, and selling counterfeit NFTs.”
Rider Rips Monkey #8774. Source: Opensee
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However, there are separate ongoing cases regarding Ripps’ use of images from the BAYC collection. Jeremy Kahn has also been sued for copying and selling the same products on the same platforms as Yuga.
A lawsuit was filed against Ripps and Cahen in June, with Yuga alleging that the artists were “phishing Yuga Labs and scamming consumers” into buying their replicas. The complaint also alleged that Ripps made more than $5 million by “pumping and dumping fake NFTs.”
Related: New video revives controversy over alleged “racist” photos of the Bored Ape Yacht Club
On January 30, investor rights protection law firm Rosen reiterated that investors who purchased BAYC NFTs from Yuga or its native token ApeCoin (APE) could join a lawsuit against the company.
Rosen sued Yuga Labs in December for violating US securities laws by misleading investors about the financial benefits of owning NFTs and tokens and using celebrity promoters.
