Is Bored Ape Yacht Club Copyrighted?

A federal court in California has granted Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, a legal victory in the form of admitting it does not own any formal copyright for the NFTs. The revelation was disclosed in a court filing by Yuga Labs in the 2023 case. The company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club has sued conceptual artist Ryder Ripps for selling duplicates of its NFTs.

Bored Ape Yacht Club has made it clear that NFT holders have full commercialization rights to their ape, i.e., it is not constricted to just merchandise. Attorneys for artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen told a seemingly skeptical panel of judges Monday that they should be allowed to dodge a lawsuit. The Bored Ape Yacht Club patron has never filed for copyright, though it still grants NFT holders ownership to use the NFTs commercially and for display.

In 2021, Yuga Labs launched a collection of NFTs featuring graphic images of apes, known as the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). Yuga Labs, apparently never actually copyrighted their computer-generated apes. A judge has ruled in favor of Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs in a lawsuit against conceptual artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen. Three apes were registered by Bored and Hungry LLC, which runs a Bored Ape themed burger joint in Long Beach CA. The rest were registered by an entity.

In a new court filing, Yuga Labs, the company that owns Bored Ape Yacht Club, said that it does not have any copyright registrations for the 10,000 images that constitute the successful Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection.

Can an NFT be copyrighted?

Someone who purchases an NFT only owns the asset recorded on the blockchain. The NFT purchaser does not own the creative content. The content creator continues to own the copyright, even if that NFT is resold a million times over. The only exception to this rule is if the copyright owner assigns the copyright to the NFT purchaser.

Can the copyright of the original artwork be transferred to NFT buyer?

As mentioned above, purchasing an NFT does not mean that the copyright of the underlying creative content automatically transfers to the owner of the NFT. However, the transfer of copyright ownership is possible as long as it is expressly determined in the contract between parties (see, 17 U.S.C. §204 (a)).

Are Bored Ape images copyrighted?

The license granted by Yuga Labs allows a Bored Ape NFT holder to use the specific Ape artwork that they own for commercial purposes. Ownership of the digital artwork is NOT the same as ownership of the copyright. The rights associated with copyright ownership are licensed, not transferred, to owners. Jeremy Goldman says this license has allowed BAYC holders to launch “restaurants, digital comics, food trucks, video games, hot sauce brands, music labels, production companies, and more”.

While this sounds generous, Yuga Labs LLC retains a firm grip on the intellectual property (IP). In this thread, Valko points out that the license is granted subject to continued compliance and argues that the Creative Commons CC0 dedication is actually a much better fit for web3:

What Are the Apes Creating?. Within the community, many members are building personal brands utilizing the BAYC image, while others are involved in creating derivative projects. Among the most famous is probably the music video by Eminem and Snoop Dogg which features these artists’ own Bored Apes throughout.

What is the royalty fee for the Bored Ape Yacht Club?

Resale fees aren’t the only way that NFT businesses can make money — CrytoPunks don’t have a fee, for instance —but it’s certainly among the primary ways. The Bored Ape collection has a 2.5 percent fee, and after acquiring the Meebits NFT collection, Yuga added a 5 percent fee.

“Yuga believes in protecting creator royalties so creators are properly compensated for their work,” Yuga CEO Daniel Alegre said in a statement this afternoon. Yuga Labs has previously blocked certain transactions from happening on Blur and other marketplaces that don’t enforce royalty fees.

Can I use a Bored Ape as my profile picture?

Bored Ape Yacht Club The collection contains 10,000 apes created using generative art techniques. Each ape has unique characteristics that correlate to its level of rarity. The apes double as both profile pictures and membership keys to the club.

What is an NFT?. An NFT (non-fungible token) is a unique digital item stored on a blockchain. NFTs can represent almost anything — from art to in-game items — and serve as a digital record of ownership.

What defines a PFP NFT?. A profile picture, or PFP, NFT is any NFT thats primary purpose is use as a social media profile picture, or avatar. These NFTs are digital items that are authenticated on a blockchain network, making them verifiably unique. Some PFP NFTs also grant access to designated online communities.

Profile picture NFTs come in various forms, ranging from static images to animated or interactive designs. They may be based on characters, take the form of animals, look like humans, or be abstract.

Does BAYC have royalties?

Royalties are recurring revenue for in-demand projects. As an example, the initial sales of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) brought $2.2 million in revenue. Subsequent sales to traders and collectors brought 24 times the amount of revenue, netting $54 million in royalties for the collection. Royalties are set at just 2.5%, half that of newer collections.

Using BAYC as an example, the key to making money with NFT royalties isn’t necessarily tied to higher royalty percentages, but rather to creating in-demand collections that generate excitement and added trading volume. Each new trade is an opportunity to earn more royalties.

Good news for the artist—the buyer pays the royalty fee. Well, to be technical, the marketplace pays the fee, but they are just a pass-through entity. The marketplace takes the royalty fee—let’s say 3%—from the buyer and “passes” 3% to the original creator once the NFT is sold.

What are the benefits of owning a BAYC?

Owners of Bored Apes are considered members of the BAYC and gain access to exclusive perks such as private online spaces, exclusive merch, and members-only live events.

Can I sell prints of my NFT?

Yes, you can sell physical prints of an NFT if you’re the original artist (and haven’t sold or given away the rights), or you’re the owner and have permission from the original artist.

Who owns the Bored Ape Yacht Club?

Yuga Labs The parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club is Yuga Labs.

Bored Ape characters used by the creators of the project.

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), often colloquially called Bored Apes or Bored Ape is a non-fungible token (NFT) collection built on the Ethereum blockchain with the ERC-721 standard. The collection features profile pictures of cartoon apes that are procedurally generated by an algorithm.

The parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club is Yuga Labs. The project launched in April 2021. Owners of a Bored Ape NFT are granted access to a private online club, exclusive in-person events, and intellectual property rights for the image.

Does Elon own a Bored Ape?

Unless Musk confirms he is the owner of the Bored Ape collection sold at the Sotheby’s auction, chances are he is trolling the world once again and has also performed a “right click save,” by sharing a picture of an NFT he doesn’t own.

The world’s richest man has been a vocal opposer of non-fungible tokens. Has Elon Musk been trolling everyone this whole time as the owner of a large amount of popular NFTs or is he trolling us once again Wednesday morning by right-click saving?

What Happened: The Tesla Inc TSLA CEO changed his Twitter Inc TWTR profile picture Wednesday morning to a collage of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. Musk tweeted of the change by poking fun at the definition of fungible.

An item that is fungible is easily interchangeable and able to be replaced. NFTs offer unique ownership of an item on the blockchain.

Are Bored Apes still worth anything?

Despite the initial success and high market cap it once boasted, the value of the apes has dwindled significantly, representing only a fraction of its peak. On top of that, investors are doing anything to monetize their tokens that were at one point worth millions. However, they’ve lost a lot of popularity. If you fancy a trip to Thailand, you can buy yourself some weed from the Bored Ape Dispensary. Bored and Hungry still exists but only in Korea and the Phillipines. Ape Water is still a thing in mini-marts and 7-Eleven’s around Nevada, Colorado, and some parts of Arizona.

“Right now the ape price is tanking a lot cause ETH-NFTs aren’t hot anymore,” the anonymous BAYC buyer told Mashable. “The new wave is Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes.”

As the year continues, Yuga Labs’ ability to adapt to these shifting tides will determine whether BAYC can regain its former glory or continue to face a diminishing market presence. But for right now, the cultural presence of this once illustrious “yacht club” still exists — barely — as overpriced streetwear.

Why is Bored Ape NFT so expensive?

1. Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs Are Rare. Goods and services are known to operate on a demand and supply basis. Low demand & high supply = low prices; low supply & high demand = high prices. BAYC NFTs are bound to the same principles.

There can only ever be 10,000 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. This means that there will always be a scarcity or a lack of supply of fresh Bored Apes hitting the market.

But Bored Apes aren’t just rare collectables – even their designs are unique. The creators have used a combination of 170 unique traits like golden fur or cyborg eye to model each Bored Ape NFT.

If you’re wondering why Bored Apes are so expensive, rarity and uniqueness are just one of the many reasons why. The next factor includes exclusivity.

Can I still use my art if I sell it as an NFT?

NFTs can be sued for copyright in the same way as other physical or digital media can. While an NFT owner may legally own the NFT itself, they may not own the rights to the original content or artwork it derived from. However, some NFTs may include licensing rights, so it’s always important to check.