‘Still don’t see it’ – judges question Ryder Ripps’ ‘BAYC’ appeal

Invincible Token (NFT) artist Ryder Ripps' attempts to have the charges against him dismissed related to the Board Up Yacht Club appear to have fallen on skeptical ears.

At the October 17 hearing, three judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Rips and Jeremy Cahen (who goes by the nickname X), appeared unconvinced by the arguments. It should have been rejected on the grounds of free speech.

WilmerHale partner Thomas Sprinkling, a lawyer for Rips and Cahen, argued that the Bored Up NFTs sold and distributed were against anti-Semitic imagery hidden in a collection created by Yoga Labs.

Rips and Cahen have repeatedly characterized the sale of NFTs as an exercise in pushing the boundaries of speech, and Yuga's lawsuit should have been dismissed under California law aimed at ending intimidation lawsuits known as systematic lawsuits against public participation. or SLAPP.

Sprinkling told the justices that the anti-SLAPP statute was designed as “prophylactic” — that is, it “needs to go a little beyond the scope of the First Amendment to make sure you can't intimidate people with chilling rhetoric in litigation.” Like what happened here.”

In their anti-SLAPP motion, the couple asserted that Yuga Labs had filed suit against them to silence their “opposition” art and saddled them with legal costs.

However, the judges seem to be only interested in the secondary sales of the NFTs themselves, basically rejecting all arguments based on any artistic criticism.

Judge Anthony Johnston responded to Sprinkling's argument that “he was selling the same images, in the same marketplaces, with indistinguishable NFT tags.”

“I still don't see it,” added Judge Morgan Christen.

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Yuga Labs first filed a complaint against Rips and Cahen in July 2022, alleging the pair made millions of dollars for engaging in trademark infringement, false advertising and unfair competition following the launch of an NFT stock called RR/BAYC.

On April 21, a California district court ruled that Ripps and Cahen infringed on YugaLab's trademarks from their RR/BAYC NFT collection.

California District Court Judge John Walter has held a bench trial to assess the amount of damages awarded to Yoga Labs, but has not yet announced the outcome of the case.

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