NFT Artist Ryder Ripps Struggles to Get Bored Ape Yacht Club Lawsuit Dismissed
The attorney representing NFT artist Ryder Ripps and his co-founder, Jeremy Cahen (known by the pseudonym “Pauly” on X), struggled to convince a panel of judges to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Bored Ape Yacht Club against his clients.
In an Oct. 17 hearing, three judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth District appeared skeptical about the arguments presented by Ripps and Cahen's attorney. He contended that the case should be dismissed on grounds of free speech, asserting that the knock-off Bored Ape NFTs were sold and distributed as a form of protest against alleged hidden anti-Semitic imagery in the original collection.
Ripps and Cahen's lawyer, Thomas Sprankling, emphasized that Ryder Ripp was selling the NFTs as avant-garde artistic expression that pushed the boundaries of free speech. He argued that Yuga's lawsuit should be dismissed under a California law designed to prevent intimidating lawsuits, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP).
Sprankling explained that California's anti-SLAPP statute acts as a preventive measure, going beyond the protections of the First Amendment to ensure people are not threatened or deterred from expressing themselves freely. The hearing showcased the complexities and nuances surrounding the intersection of free speech, artistic expression, and NFTs in the legal realm.
The anti-SLAPP motion contended that Yuga Labs had filed the lawsuit as a response to Ripps' criticism of Bored Apes on social media, with the intention of silencing him and burdening him with legal costs.
However, the judges on the panel appear skeptical of this argument, focusing their analysis on the secondary sale of the copycat NFTs, not the additional criticisms from Ripps
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