- An intellectual property theft claim has caused Yuga Labs to change the logo for its Bored Ape Kennel Club
- The Bored Ape creator reportedly used an image from a kids-based drawing tutorials platform
- Yuga Labs adopted the image as a logo three months after its first publication
Dookey Dash creator Yuga Labs has agreed to change the Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) logo after claims it infringed on the intellectual property (IP) rights of Easy Drawing Guides. The kids-based drawing tutorials platform disclosed that its materials are protected by a license. This isn’t Yuga Labs’ first IP infringement claim as the RR/BAYC creator has opposed some of the company’s trademark filings citing IP conflict.
Three-Month Interval
The IP theft was first unearthed by a Twitter user after which the wolf skull’s original artist and Yuga’s co-founder Greg Solano admitted to the striking resemblance between the two images. Details show that the drawing was first published by the kids-based drawing platform in April 2021 while Yuga adopted a similar image for its BAKC NFT collection in June of the same year.
Bro @BoredApeYC @yugalabs what a fucking joke bahahahahaha you got some explaining to do. 4/5/21 and your kennels came out 6/21 and you went and trademarked this skull. Are you guys ok or have you bumped your heads? https://t.co/HiLFdbnFL5 pic.twitter.com/FJigzJgBr8
— COLOMBO (@Jdotcolombo) February 17, 2023
According to the Easy Drawing Guides website, content on the platform isn’t meant for commercial use. Commenting on the revelations, Easy Drawing Guides disclosed that Yuga Labs “doesn’t have a license to the wolf skull drawing.”
Thanks for bringing this up @Jdotcolombo. @yugalabs doesn’t have a license to the wolf skull drawing. 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.
— Easy Drawing Guides (@easydrawinguide) February 17, 2023
Yuga Labs’ Ready to Change
While seemingly admitting to IP infringement, Solano said that Yuga will change the logo and do the same across their site, adding that they’ll work with NFT marketplaces to implement changes across the collectibles world.
Saw the claims today about the BAKC logo. This was news to us and we’re still investigating the situation. Have reached out to the freelancer we hired for that design and Easy Drawing Guides. We’ll be changing the logo and updating it on our site / ask marketplaces to change as… https://t.co/OwtflDXehz
— Garga.eth (Greg Solano) (@CryptoGarga) February 18, 2023
However, Solano noted that the company didn’t know about the infringed IP before the revelations. Some in the crypto space suggested that Yuga Labs should let the BAKC community choose “which logo [is] the best.” With Yuga seemingly admitting wrongdoing, it’s not clear whether Easy Drawing Guides will claim a share of the profits made off the BAKC project.
