- Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, recently announced plans to bestow exclusive commercial rights onto holders of Moonbirds, an Ethereum NFT collection it acquired in February.
- However, Moonbirds’ original creators filed the collection under Creative Commons 0 (CC0), which relinquished any copyright claims to the artwork, raising questions about the legality of Yuga Labs’ move.
- Legal experts argue that the company’s position is legally invalid, and the company later clarified that commercial rights would only be attached to new, 3D versions of the Moonbirds artwork.
Yuga Labs faces legal controversy over its plans to bestow exclusive commercial rights onto holders of the Moonbirds NFT collection, which was previously filed under Creative Commons 0 (CC0).
Yuga Labs’ Controversial Move
Yuga Labs, the multi-billion dollar company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, recently announced its plans to bestow exclusive commercial rights onto holders of Moonbirds, an Ethereum NFT collection it acquired in February. However, this move has sparked controversy as Moonbirds’ original creators had filed the collection under Creative Commons 0 (CC0), a legal tool that relinquished any copyright claims to the artwork.
Public Domain vs. Commercial Rights
Several experts, including copyright attorney Alfred Steiner, argue that Yuga Labs’ position is legally invalid as the Moonbirds artwork is now in the public domain. In response to the backlash, Yuga Labs’ co-founder and CEO, Greg “Garga” Solano, clarified that commercial rights would only be attached to new, 3D versions of the Moonbirds artwork, which would be given exclusively to current NFT holders.
Understanding IP in Crypto
According to Brian Frye, a law professor at the University of Kentucky specializing in NFTs and intellectual property, the controversy highlights key issues with how IP is currently understood and discussed within the crypto space. Frye explains that while Yuga Labs can police who commercially leverages the Moonbirds brand, the notion of individualized, copyright-based commercial rights controlled by NFT holders is somewhat fanciful.
Conclusion
The Moonbirds episode reveals the buzzword nature of IP for NFT brands, despite the lack of legal clarity surrounding the topic. While Yuga Labs’ move may temporarily boost holders’ perception of its value, it could potentially backfire in the long run as it limits who can engage with the Moonbirds brand.
