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

BlockBeats News, July 24th, According to TheBlock, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a mixed ruling in the long-running case between Bored Ape issuer Yuga Labs and artist Ryder Ripps. Ryder Ripps had previously intentionally sold a replica of the NFT as "expressive appropriation art."

The court ruled that NFTs are a "good" eligible for trademark protection and rejected many of Ripps' legal arguments but overturned the previous $8 million judgment against Ripps. The case has been remanded to a lower court for further proceedings, requiring the lower court to reconsider the issue of whether RR/BAYC caused consumer confusion. The case began 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 found that further evidence is needed to demonstrate the potential for consumer confusion.