Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT Creator Advances Trademark Lawsuit (1)

Bored Ape Yacht Club nonfungible token creator Yuga Labs Inc.'s trademark infringement lawsuit against two artists who allegedly sold unauthorized copycat NFTs depicting digital images of apes, survived a motion to dismiss and allegations it was brought to suppress the artists’ speech.

US District Judge John F. Walter denied Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen’s motion to dismiss the suit on Dec. 16, ruling that a trademark-free speech balancing framework known as the Rogers test doesn’t apply to the allegedly copied NFTs.

Walter also denied Ripps and Cahen’s Anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation motion, which argued the lawsuit was attempting to ...