BAYC creators have reached an agreement with developer Thomas Lehman for his role in marketing the BAYC NFT knockoff collection.
The creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club, a non-fungible token collection, have settled a dispute with one of the developers behind a copycat collection called RR/BAYC.
On February 6, Yuga Labs settled a lawsuit involving website developer Thomas Lehman and Smart, whose contract sold “misleading” BAYC NFTs by digital artist Ryder Ripps.
The company behind the Blue Collection sued Lehman in January for its involvement in technical support for the Mimic Monkey Collection.
According to the lawsuit, Lehman helped Lipps and Jeremy Kane develop and promote NFTs on social media. This is alleged to be a “deliberate attempt to harm Yuga Labs at the expense of consumers” concerning the two collections.
According to Law360, in the settlement, Yuga Labs and Lehman signed a permanent ban on Lehman from using “confusingly similar” BAYC images or from manipulating social media accounts that imply affiliation with the company. Law360 said it has agreed to a legal injunction.
In a statement, Lehman said, “It was never our intention to harm the Yuga Labs brand. We reject all derogatory remarks about Yuga Labs and its founders, and appreciate their many positive contributions to the NFT field.” I am grateful to you.”
A Yuga spokesperson told Law360 that Lehman “played a role in helping former cohorts Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen infringe on his Yuga Labs trademark in the development, marketing, and sale of counterfeit NFTs. I’m happy to be recognized,” he said.
However, there is another ongoing case regarding the use of images from the BAYC collection by Lips. Jeremy Cahen was also sued for copying the same product and selling it on the same platform as Yuga.
Ripps and Cahen sued him in June, with Yuga alleging that the artist “scammed Yuga Labs and tricked consumers” into buying counterfeit goods. The complaint also alleges that Ripps made more than $5 million by “pumping and dumping his fake NFTs.”
On January 30, investor rights law firm Rosen reiterated that investors who purchased Yuga’s BAYC NFT or its native token ApeCoin (APE) could participate in a securities class action lawsuit against the company.
Rosen sued Yuga Labs in December, accusing him of misleading investors about the economic benefits of owning NFTs and tokens and using prominent promoters and violating U.S. securities laws.
