false designation of origin Archives

It’s not monkey business: NFTs can be trademarked

by Ashley K. Justice | Jul 31, 2025 | Trademarks

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that a non-fungible token (NFT) is a “good” under the Lanham Act but reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for trademark infringement because the owner did not prove as a matter of law that the defendants’ use was likely to cause confusion. The Ninth Circuit also affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaim for declaratory relief regarding copyright ownership. Yuga Labs, Inc. v. Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, Case No. 24-879 (9th Cir. July 23, 2025) (Bade, Forrest, Curiel, JJ.)

Yuga Labs is the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection. Yuga created this collection through a smart contract recorded on the blockchain Ethereum. Each BAYC NFT has a cartoon of a bored ape and a sequential unique identifier called an ape ID. Per its terms and conditions, BAYC NFT consumers receive commercial and personal rights free of royalty fees.

Ryder Ripps and Jermey Cahen created the Ryder Ripps Bored Ape Yacht Club (RR/BAYC) using the same ape images and ape IDs. The collection was also hosted on an Ethereum blockchain smart contract. They criticized Yuga for “using neo-Nazi symbolism, alt-right dog whistles, and racist imagery” and alleged that they created RR/BAYC as satire and criticism. Ripps made the RR/BAYC smart contracts’ names “Bored Ape Yacht Club” and made the smart contract symbol “BAYC.” Ripps’ website includes an artist statement that the artwork is a “new mint of BAYC imagery.” NFT marketplace websites for RR/BAYC displayed a large header “Bored Ape Yacht Club” and in a smaller text “@ryder_ripps.”

Yuga sued Ripps and Cahen for several claims, including trademark infringement based on a false designation of origin theory, false advertising, and cybersquatting. In response, the defendants asserted that Yuga did not have enforceable trademark rights, and even if it did, the defendants’ use was protected by fair use and the First Amendment. The defendants asserted several counterclaims, including knowing misrepresentation of infringing activity under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), and sought declaratory judgment of no copyright ownership.

The district court granted Yuga’s motion for summary judgment on its false designation of origin and cybersquatting claims. Yuga withdrew its remaining claims, so the trial proceeded only for equitable remedies on the false designation of origin and cybersquatting. At trial, the district court found that Yuga’s BAYC marks were unregistered trademarks. The district court awarded Yuga disgorgement of the defendants’ profits, maximum statutory damages, and attorneys’ fees after finding that the case was exceptional due to the defendants’ willful infringement, bad faith intent to profit, and litigation conduct. The defendants were also permanently enjoined. The defendants appealed the grant of summary judgment and sought vacatur of the remedies.

The Ninth Circuit first addressed the defendants’ argument that NFTs are not goods protected by the Lanham Act. The Court concluded that NFTs are goods under the Lanham Act based on a US Patent & Trademark Office report that determined them as such. The Court also [...]

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Eleventh Circuit sides with Fourth, Fifth Circuits on bankruptcy discharge exception split

by Deanna D. Boll | Jul 24, 2025 | Uncategorized

Addressing a split among bankruptcy courts in their interpretation of whether a corporate debtor, like an individual debtor, is subject to the exceptions to discharge outlined in 11 U.S.C. § 523(a) when confirming a nonconsensual Subchapter V plan, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a US Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida decision. The Eleventh Circuit held that the cross-reference in 11 U.S.C. § 1192 to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)’s exceptions to discharge applies to both corporate and individual debtors. BenShot, LLC v. 2 Monkey Trading, LLC, Lucky Shot USA, LLC, Case No. 23-12342 (11th Cir. July 9, 2025) (Branch, Lagoa, JJ.) (Luck, J., dissenting).

Prior to filing for chapter 11 protection under Bankruptcy Code Subchapter V, 2 Monkey Trading and Lucky Shot (together, the debtors) were sued by BenShot for violations of the Lanham Act in connection with the debtors’ false advertising that their competing products were produced in the United States. The jury found in favor of BenShot and awarded punitive damages, determining that the debtors acted “maliciously toward” BenShot or “in an intentional disregard” of BenShot’s rights. Following this decision, the debtors filed for bankruptcy and attempted to discharge the jury award owed to BenShot. BenShot argued that the jury award constituted an exception to discharge under § 523(a)(6) for claims involving “willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another entity.” The bankruptcy court, like many bankruptcy courts in other jurisdictions, found in favor of the debtors, holding that § 523(a)’s discharge exceptions exclude corporate debtors and therefore the debtors could discharge BenShot’s debt.

On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit reversed and extended the application of § 523(a) in nonconsensual Subchapter V cases to corporate debtors. It observed that § 1191(c) of Subchapter V enables a debtor, if certain conditions are met, to confirm a nonconsensual plan without adhering to the absolute priority rule, thereby allowing a debtor to receive a discharge and retain assets even when all unsecured creditors are not paid in full. The discharge granted under a confirmed Subchapter V nonconsensual plan is governed by § 1192, which includes an exception to discharge in the form of a cross-reference to § 523(a). The question of whether the exception applies to corporate debtors arises from the text of § 523(a)’s preamble, which uses the term “individual debtor” before listing the exceptions to discharge.

In reaching its decision, the Eleventh Circuit engaged in a plain reading of the language of § 1192, which makes no distinction between individual and corporate debtors. The statute uses the word “debtor,” a term applied elsewhere in the Bankruptcy Code to both individuals and corporate entities. The Court also acknowledged that § 1192 states that the discharge is of a “debt,” which does not distinguish between an individual and a corporation. The Court noted that Congress could have used the term “consumer debt” if it wanted the discharge to apply only to individuals.

The Eleventh Circuit also interpreted the language in § 1192(2) that references [...]

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Déjà vu Decision on Likelihood of Confusion

by Amol Parikh | May 19, 2022 | Trademarks

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a trademark suit that was essentially identical to a previous lawsuit that was dismissed based on a finding of lack of confusion. Springboards to Education, Inc. v. Pharr San Juan Alamo Independent School District, Case No. 21-40336 (5th Cir. May 10, 2022) (Willett, Engelhardt, Wilson, JJ.)

Springboards sells products to school districts in connection with its “Read a Million Words Campaign.” The campaign builds excitement around reading by incentivizing school children to read books through promises of induction into the Millionaire’s Reading Club and access to rewards, such as t-shirts, backpacks and fake money. Springboards’ goods may typically bear any combination of trademarks that it registered with the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO), including “Read a Million Words,” “Million Dollar Reader,” “Millionaire Reader” and “Millionaire’s Reading Club.”

Pharr San Juan Alamo (PSJA) is a public school district in Hidalgo County, Texas. Springboards sued PSJA in 2016 in federal court, alleging trademark infringement based on the school district’s use of “millionaire”-themed reading incentive programs allegedly “using products and services bearing marks and branding identical to or confusingly similar to Springboards’ marks.” While the case was pending, the Fifth Circuit issued its decision in Springboards to Education, Inc. v. Houston Independent School District, where it found that another public school district’s summer reading program did not infringe Springboards’ trademarks. Observing the parallels between the Houston case and the PSJA case, the district court granted PSJA’s motion for summary judgment that it did not infringe any of Springboards’ trademarks. Springboards appealed.

Calling it “déjà vu all over again,” the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s finding that PSJA’s use of Springboards’ marks was not likely to cause confusion. The Court explained that distinguishing between Springboards’ catalog of “millionaire”-themed goods and unaffiliated “millionaire”-themed goods that other educational entities have elected to deploy is not difficult, and unique imprints on “millionaire”-themed reading challenges are widespread in the educational field. The Court noted that as in Houston, Springboards did not allege that PSJA itself is in the business of competing with Springboards by selling its own “millionaire”-themed products to the school districts that make up Springboards’ customer base. The Court thus concluded that PSJA’s use of a million-word reaching challenge did not confuse and was not intended to confuse the sophisticated school districts that Springboards targets with its marks.

Springboards tried to distinguish the Houston case by arguing that the Houston school district had one summer reading program whereas PSJA has had several year-long reading programs and that the requirements of PSJA’s reading program are identical—and not merely similar to—Springboards’ model program. Springboards also noted that its founder worked his entire career in Hildago County (where PSJA is located) and visited schools, teachers and administrators in the district—unlike Houston, which was over 300 miles away. The Court found that these facts did not move the needle, in light of its finding that sophisticated school district customers can [...]

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