After American investigative YouTuber, Philion posted an hour-long video documenting his hypothesis surrounding the Bored Ape NFT project. Conceptual artist, programmer, and cyberculture connoisseur Ryder Ripps is now in the firing line of a 43-page legal testimony from Yuga Labs.
Ripps’ efforts to take down the major NFT project began in January when he made a website (which uses one of the founders’ names for SEO purposes) to document all of his findings. The website features a whole range of ideas that point to Yuga Labs and the BAYC project being underlined with racism and Nazism, with Ripps pointing to the launch date of the Otherside project, the traits of Bored Ape NFTs, the BAYC logo, and many more features of the project to make his argument.
In response, the Yuga Labs founders, a collective of Cuban, Pakistani, Turkish, and Jewish friends, have accused Ripps and his associates of slander, attempted devaluation of the project, and the unsolicited use of BAYC IP. The last accusation here refers to Ripps’ launch of an ‘equivalent’ Bored NFT collection, which, with help from Philion ending his video with the hashtag BURNBAYC, hoped to dethrone the project from its marketplace stat dominance. As per the words of the Californian lawsuit: “This is no monkey business… These actions are calculated, intentional, and willful to cause actual and monetary harm to Yuga Labs and the holders of authentic Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs”.
That being said, for now, such a lawsuit only appears to relate to a matter of principle. Contrary to the Ripps’ intentions, the BAYC collection’s 24-hour trade volume has steadily increased since Philion posted the video. The company also ended its lawsuit’s announcement of the case by stating its intent to bring justice to its accusers: “We will continue exploring and pursuing all legal options at our disposal.”
