Maker of Bored Ape NFTs sues artist for profiting off ‘copycat’ images

The creators of the Bored Ape non-fungible token collection — one of the best-known and most highly valued sets of digital art — sued an artist in federal court, alleging he was “scamming consumers” by making and selling copycat pieces.

Attorneys for Yuga Labs, whose Bored Ape Yacht Club pieces have sold for millions of dollars, filed suit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. They accused Ryder Ripps of trying to devalue their pieces by “flooding the NFT market with his own copycat NFT collection using the original Bored Ape Yacht Club images.” Ripps sold his work under a similar name, RR/BAYC.

The value of the 10,000 unique and colorful ape NFTs that Yuga Labs created lies not only with their rarity, the suit said, but also with their benefits. Those include entry into an “exclusive community” of Bored Ape owners, who get access to online channels, as well as parties and events.

An Ape Fest was held last week at New York City’s Pier 17, with shows by LCD Soundsystem, Haim, Future and Eminem. Owners of a cartoon ape were issued a QR code that allowed entry to the event.

The class of Bored Ape owners includes comedian Jimmy Fallon and rapper Snoop Dogg.

The value of the Bored Ape NFTs has fallen, tumbling from a peak floor cryptocurrency price of 153.54 ether on May 1 — about $430,000 at the time — to 87.13 ether on Tuesday,

or nearly $100,000. The lawsuit blamed Ripps for the decline, which it said he “and others acting in concert with him have touted and cheered.”

Ripps said in an email that the lawsuit “grossly mischaracterizes the RR/ BAYC project,” which he called a “protest against and parody of” the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.

“No one was under the impression that the RR/ BAYC NFTs were substitutes for BAYC NFTs or would grant them access to Yuga’s club,” he said.