Feb 19, 2023
Yuga Labs Accused of Illegally Trademarking Iconic Wolf Skull Logo
The iconic wolf skull logo of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Yuga Labs’ premier nonfungible token (NFT) collection, has been the center of a heated online debate after it was revealed that the image was allegedly illegally trademarked without proper licenses. The artwork in question was originally released by Easy Drawing Guides, a company specializing in drawing tutorials for children and beginners.
The incident has caused a stir in the web3 space, as NFTs were created to protect artists from copyright infringement and other illegal uses of intellectual property — the very issue that Yuga Labs has been accused of. @Jdotcolombo, a crypto Twitter user and NFT artist, was the first to notice the discrepancy, after he came across a post from April 5, 2021 in which Easy Drawing Guides advertised a wolf skull drawing tutorial.
The art displayed by the company closely resembled BAYC’s official logo, which was released on June 17, 2021. Easy Drawing Guides responded to the commotion to confirm that Yuga Labs had no license to use the wolf skull drawing. To make matters worse, Yuga Labs had also gone on to trademark the unlicensed logo as its own. In response, Easy Drawing Guides stated:
“The intellectual property rights for the drawing belong to Easy Drawing Guides as it’s our original drawing and protected by our Terms and Conditions.”
Cointelegraph confirmed that the terms and conditions of Easy Drawing Guides grant a non-transferable, non-exclusive, revocable, limited license to use and access the website solely for personal, non-commercial use.
The intellectual property dilemma is not new for Yuga Labs. One of the founders of the BAYC copycat NFT collection RR/BAYC filed an opposition notice against 10 trademark applications from Yuga Labs. In the notice, RR/BAYC co-founder Jeremy Cahen highlighted a list of “grounds for opposition” against Yuga Labs’ filings, claiming that the company “abandoned any rights” to certain logo and artwork designs due to BAYC NFT sales granting “all rights” of the digital images to the owners.
The debate has divided the crypto community, with some believing that no intellectual property was breached in using the logo, while others feel that Easy Drawing Guides is entitled to some serious compensation. Cointelegraph reached out to Yuga Labs for comment, but has yet to receive a response.
The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of proper NFT marketing and promotion. Artists and companies alike should take the necessary steps to ensure that their intellectual property is properly licensed and protected before selling NFTs. Additionally, it is important to partner with a reputable NFT marketing agency or web3 agency to ensure that your NFTs are properly promoted and marketed on social media platforms such as Twitter.
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