Morning Minute | Yuga Labs Wins Trademark Ruling
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TylerD's Market Summary
Yuga Labs has effectively won their trademark case against Ryder Ripps in court. Here's what it means for the NFT space. Plus catch up on the weekend market action.
👩⚖️Yuga Labs Wins Key Ruling
The Yuga Labs vs Ryder Ripps saga has been going on for quite some time, with the potential ruling having a big impact on NFT project IP.
Well mark one down for the good guys, because it looks like Yuga will win the case on all accounts.
On April 21, a U.S. district court in California found in the case of Yuga Labs, Inc. -v- Ripps et al. that Ryder Ripps' RR/BAYC collection infringed on Yuga Labs' copyrights and trademarks.
The Details
Here's the summary of the ruling, from Julian Son's great coverage:
- "Yuga Labs was granted summary judgment in false designation of origin and cybersquatting claims.
- Yuga Labs owns the unregistered BAYC Marks, which are valid and enforceable.
- NFTs are goods for the purposes of the Lanham Act (trademarks).
- Ryder Ripps' various defenses ('I'm a conceptual artist; this is free speech criticism via art') were thrown out.
- None of the defenses as to celebrity endorsements or securities violations are related to the trademark dispute.
- Yuga Labs is entitled to monetary damages and injunctive relief, with the determination of damages to be made at trial."
Read the full 22-page ruling.
What It Means
This was a big win for NFT project IP and the ability not to be copied.
Yuga did not have an official trademark on the BAYC brand, yet the judge ruled that they had established ownership of it via their strong conceptual and commercial presence.
So no more unofficial ripoffs or copies coming in the future (unless the project goes CC0).
The ruling is even more important and relevants as projects like Pudgy Penguins and Gutter Cat Gang begin empowering their holders with Brand Toolkits to use their IP in marketing and business building activities.
A solid precedent is set, from the biggest brand in the NFT space.
There's likely more to unpack from this ruling, but I'll leave that to the Web3 lawyers.
📉 NFT Market Overview
It was a roller coaster week and weekend in the NFT space.
We saw broad capitulation on Friday, as some major projects wicked down to levels not seen in quite some time.
BAYC and Punks touched 45 ETH, MAYC went sub-10 and Moonbirds went below their 2.5 ETH mint price.
Then the weekend saw some recovery, and those that bought the blood on Friday made some quick profits (if they sold).
So where do things stand on Monday, April 24?
Here are some notable projects and their 7-day changes:
- Fidenza: 56 ETH (-10%)
- BAYC: 50.1 ETH (-6%)
- Punks: 48.8 ETH (-9%)
- Azuki: 15 ETH (even)
- MAYC: 11.1 ETH (-9%)
- Chromie Squiggle: 8.4 ETH (-9%)
- Captainz: 7.55 ETH (+10%)
- DeGods: 7.7 ETH (-7%)
- Pudgy Penguins: 3.94 ETH (+3%)
- CloneX: 2.73 ETH (+9%)
- Moonbirds: 2.46 ETH (-19%)
- Doodles: 2.36 ETH (-3%)
- Otherdeed: 1.18 ETH (-12%)
Basically everything was down 5%-10% on the week, even after a ~10% weekend rally.
The combination of high gas fees all week and the lure of quick returns in memecoin trading kept NFT traders on the sidelines, leading to the lowest level of unique NFT traders in months.
OpenSea's volume is also at its lowest levels since July 2021.
Not great.
On or a more positive note, the primary winner on the week was Captainz and the Memeland ecosystem, which looks as strong as ever. It continues to show strength while everything else bleeds, which is certainly noteworthy.
Pudgy Penguins and CloneX are also showing some strength, but there are some concerns that those might be more farming-driven (i.e. manipulation) than true recovery. Something to keep a close eye on.
Where is the bottom?
Hopefully we find it soon.
🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
- Trading volume was just over 15k ETH on Sunday, the new low since early February; OS Pro captured 4.7% share, with Blur holding 62%
- A Blur bidding issue caused some users with expired bids to have them accepted on Friday, causing some brief chaos in the Blur farming scene; Blur promised refunds to those impacted
- Nike x RTFKT teased a new ad for their Air Force 1 forging event running April 24 to May 8
- Moonbirds Mythics will begin hatching in June and holders will receive commercial rights (floor at 0.32 ETH)
- Killabears will be deploying 2 new contracts and airdropping new Killacubs after a report of issues being able to transfer the NFTs (Killacubs holding at 0.24 ETH)
- The Pudgy Penguins rolled out a brand builders guide last week, including a pitch deck, encouraging community members to leverage and use their IP, even encouraging competing businesses (all to help grow the larger brand)
- Gutter Cat Gang followed in the Pengus footsteps, releasing their own Community Toolkit for members to use in their IP pursuits
- Captainz saw a new ATH sale of 43 ETH on an Alien over the weekend
- Alpha Centauri Kid has shared new details and previews of his "The Broken Keys" collection, coming sometime in the next few weeks
- Beeple featured the Nakamigos once again in an Everyday on Saturday night, sending the floor up over 100% at peak (now 0.32 ETH)
🌎 Around Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
- The crypto market fell a bit over the weekend; BTC -0.5% at $27,400; ETH -1% at $1,850
- $PEPE had a roller coaster weekend, now back to a $116M mc after seeing it fall below the $100M level
- Snoop Dogg and VeeFriends are teaming up for a new NFT collab and song "Please Take a Step Back"
🚀 NFT Total Volume
- MAYC (2,225 ETH, 11.1 ETH Floor)
- BAYC (1,684 ETH, 50.9 ETH)
- Wrapped CryptoPunks (1,073 ETH, 48.8 ETH)
- Azuki (1,035 ETH; 15 ETH)
- Milady (460 ETH, 2.6 ETH)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase
- Schizoposters (25%, 0.31 ETH Floor)
- Pixelmon (23%, 1.11 ETH)
- AKCB (20%, 0.52 ETH)
- DigiDaigaku (8%, 3.6 ETH)
- World of Women (12%, 0.9 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals
Today is a big day for the PROOF and Moonbirds ecosystem as the Diamond Exhibition goes live.
The day one nesters (those holding and staking since staking began one year ago) will have first choice of art selection, with holders able to rank their top preferences and receive one of their first choices randomly.
The mint window runs through April 26, when it will open to regular Mint Pass holders.
With the floor of the mint pass at 0.3 ETH this morning, it will be interesting to see where the highest demand art pieces open up.
- Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET); 0.06529 ETH
- April Showers by Andrew Mitchell (6:30 p.m. ET); $180
- Moonbirds Diamond Exhibition (TBD)
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Forging Event (TBD)
Enjoy this write-up? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.
For all volume and floor price data, see Lucky Trader's Project Rankings page.
For all upcoming mints, see Lucky Trader's Project Schedule page.
