--- title: "A Major NFT Project Is Falling Apart in a Storm of Lawsuits" description: "The people behind a spinoff project based on the mega-popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection are suing each other in federal court over who gets what." date: "2022-03-22" modified: "2022-03-22" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/caked-apes-bayc-spinoff" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" - "NFTs" tags: - "bored apes" - "intellectual property" - "nfts" - "the blockchain" --- # A Major NFT Project Is Falling Apart in a Storm of Lawsuits ![The people behind a spinoff project based on the mega-popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection are suing each other in federal court over who gets what.]() *\Image: Caked Apes\* The people behind a spinoff project based on the mega-popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection are suing each other in federal court over who gets what share of the profits and who gets to claim ownership of their brand new collection, [*Bloomberg* reports](). It's a messy back-and-forth representative of a much larger issue in the blockchain world — telling who is entitled to what in the world of NFTs can often be clear as mud. And that kind of uncertainty is leading to more and more infighting and lawsuits, especially given the massive amounts of money involved. Taylor Whitley, Jacob Nygard, and three others launched their BAYC spinoff collection called Caked Apes in January, and, according to their dueling lawsuits, are now in major disagreement about who gets what piece of the considerable pie. The collection sold out of almost 9,000 Caked Apes NFTs, generating over $2 million in revenue, *Bloomberg* reports. In brief, Whitley claims in his suit that the other four Caked Apes members took his original designs and booted him from the project, while Nygard and the three remaining partners allege that Whitley tried to take ownership of their shared venture and also abused copyright law to get the NFTs delisted. While all this finger-pointing and reference to IP law is nothing new to joint ventures gone sour, this is, as Whitley's attorney John Snow told *Bloomberg*, "one of the first cases dealing with the Bored Ape license and what’s allowed and not allowed." https://twitter.com/TAYL0RWTF/status/1505934994774003716 Finger-pointing aside, owning a Bored Ape grants NFT holders unlimited derivative license, making all the spinoff projects created by those who purchased official BAYC NFTs technically legal, *Bloomberg* notes. Clearly, very little love has been lost between Whitley and the rest of the group. Nygard and the other three partners argue Whitley's claim to the IP plus ten percent of the revenue is bogus because he "contributed no original drawings to the Caked Apes creations," according to a statement obtained by *Bloomberg*. "Once Taylor saw the sales of Caked Apes take off," the collective said in their countersuit, "he tried to renege on our agreed-upon deal and claim a bigger piece of the pie with no legal or ethical grounds to back up his claims." Whitley, however, sees his alleged ousting as a breach of contract. https://twitter.com/CakedApes/status/1505920955545227267 It's a convoluted and bitter fight that likely won't resolve itself any time soon. But it *will* be interesting to start to see the courts catch up with the strange new world of blockchain ventures — so maybe, in the end, we'll get some new clarity. **READ MORE:** [Bored Ape NFT Spinoff Venture Gone Sour Sparks Legal Fight]() \[*Bloomberg*\] **More Ape-ing:** *[Bored Ape Launched a Coin And So Far, It's Not Going So Great]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()