The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that NFTs are eligible for trademark protection, the Yuga Labs case will be remanded for further proceedings.

July 24th. As per TheBlock, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has handed down a mixed decision in the protracted case between the issuer of Bored Ape, Yuga Labs, and artist Ryder Ripps. Ryder Ripps had previously willfully sold a replica of the NFT as "expressive appropriation art". The court determined that NFTs are a "good" that is eligible for trademark protection and rejected a large number of Ripps' legal contentions. However, it overturned the previous $8 million judgment against Ripps. The case has been sent back to a lower court for further legal proceedings, obligating the lower court to reassess the matter of whether RR/BAYC has caused consumer confusion. The case commenced in June 2022 when Yuga Labs accused Ripps of devaluing its brand by releasing the RR/BAYC NFT series. The court rejected Ripps' defenses regarding "expressive art" and First Amendment protection but held that more evidence is required to demonstrate the potential for consumer confusion.