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ARTICLE · 09 MAY 2023

Yuga Not Bored By Summary Judgment Victory Against Derivative NFT Collection

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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In the latest court decision to grapple with the scope of trademark rights in the metaverse, the Central District of California handed a significant win to Yuga Labs...

United StatesIntellectual Property
Jenevieve Maerker
Jenevieve Maerker
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In the latest court decision to grapple with the scope of trademark rights in the metaverse, the Central District of California handed a significant win to Yuga Labs, creator of a collection of 10,000 NFTs (non-fungible tokens) marketed under the name BORED APE YACHT CLUB, or BAYC.

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The BAYC NFTs are built on the Etherium blockchain and are associated with a series of unique computer-generated cartoon images of monkeys with varying clothing, accessories, and facial expressions. Buying a BAYC NFT gives the owner a copyright license to the associated image, as well as access to certain owner-only benefits, including digital communities and real-life events. BAYC NFTs can be resold on the NFT marketplace OpenSea and have traded for sums much higher than their original offering price.

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