Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, has filed a lawsuit against Ryder Ripps, claiming the online provocateur has been “scamming” buyers with falsely equivalent NFTs in a “deliberate effort to harm Yuga Labs at the expense of consumers.”
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are unique blockchain tokens that prove ownership over digital or physical assets, such as pieces of artwork or items in video games.
Ripps, referred to in the suit as “a self-proclaimed 'conceptual artist,'” is the creator of RR/BAYC, an Ethereum NFT collection that features identical BAYC images he did not purchase. Ripps first began minting his RR/BAYC NFTs on May 13 on Foundation, and after Yuga sent him an initial DMCA takedown claim, it quickly rescinded the claim when Ripps fought it. OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, has since removed Ripps's collection because of “a claim of intellectual property infringement,” but not before it saw nearly $3.5 million in total volume traded.
Ripps responded to the lawsuit on Twitter, but didn't respond to Decrypt on Friday when asked for additional comment about a blog post by BAYC co-founder Gordon Goner (real name Wylie Aronow) that called Ripps a “demented troll.”
Yuga Labs, in part, wrote on Twitter on Friday that the group “will continue to be transparent with our community as we fight these slanderous claims” and that it “will continue exploring and pursuing all legal options at our disposal.”
The company, valued at $4 billion, is seeking a jury trial.
From the lawsuit: “This is no mere monkey business... These actions are calculated, intentional, and willful with the stated purpose of causing actual and monetary harm to Yuga Labs and to the holders of authentic Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs.”