Yuga Labs has made public the Intellectual Property (IP), rights to Cryptopunks NFTs. Mid-March 2022 was the date when the IP rights to NFT collections were acquired by the company. NFT owners are allowed to use their NFTs commercially and personally.
Yuga Labs releases intellectual property licenses for Cryptopunks & Meebits owners
Bitcoin.com News published a report on 12 March 2022 about Yuga Labs’ acquisition of the Cryptopunks (and Meebits) non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Yuga Labs owns the Blue-chip NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club, and the startup that acquired Meebits and Cryptopunks promised it would release IP rights the same as with BAYC NFTs. Bored Apes (Cyberpunks), Meebits and Cryptopunks all make up the top NFT collections, with some of their highest floor values.
BAYC’s floor value today is 69.42 ETH, Cryptopunks’ floor is roughly 65.5 ETH, and the cheapest Meebits today is much lower than the Cryptopunks and BAYC collections with a 3.3 ETH floor value. Bored Apes are used by people for both personal and commercial use. For instance, Snoop Dogg and Eminem leveraged their BAYC NFT avatars to make a video for the duo’s single called “From the D 2 The LBC,” which was nominated for a VMA.
The IP rights for the Meebits and Cryptopunks NFT Collections owners are the same.
Meebits can be used to create virtual worlds and apps, as well as games. Cryptopunks NFTs were recently used by the luxury jewelry and specialty retailer Tiffany & Co. to sell jeweled pendants tied to the NFTs. When Yuga Labs released the IP rights, the co-founders Gordon Goner and Gargamel explained that the company “delivered on a promise” they made to Cryptopunks and Meebits holders.
“IP rights for your NFT. This massive step forward unlocks endless possibilities for creativity and ingenuity, which Meebs and Punks aren’t lacking in the slightest,” the co-founders said in a statement sent to Bitcoin.com News. “We believe that this type of freedom is a critical part of web3, and truly celebrates the founding principles of Yuga Labs: ownership, decentralization, and innovation.”
Yuga Labs was not the only one to tweet about the IP rights. Follow @cryptopunksnfts on Twitter said:
Punks, the IP rights agreement for the CryptoPunks collection is now live and can be found at https://licenseterms.cryptopunks.app. This moment is something we’ve promised from day one and we’re looking forward to seeing what the community builds, using the terms as guidance.
Galaxy Digital Research Report: Yuga Labs Licence Covering BAYC and MAYC NFTs contains Critical Contradictions
Meanwhile, following the IP rights release on August 15, a newly published Galaxy Digital NFT research report called “A Survey of NFT Licenses: Facts & Fictions” criticizes Yuga Labs’ IP license assigned to BAYC, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), and Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) NFTs.
“The license provided by Yuga to holders of BAYC, MAYC, and BAKC NFTs contains critical contradictions which reinforce our finding that license agreements struggle with properly transferring IP to NFT holders,” the Galaxy report says.
However, Galaxy Digital researchers Alex Thorn and Michael Marcantonio detail clearer IP licensing for Cryptopunks and Meebits NFT collections.
“While the BAYC license is unclear and potentially misleading, newer licenses from Yuga Labs including the new Cryptopunks and Meebits licenses are significantly more professional and explicit in the ownership and license terms,” Galaxy Digital’s researchers detail in Friday’s blog post. “At this point, given the disparity between Yuga’s BAYC license and its newer licenses, it’s unclear whether Yuga Labs intends to confer identical commercial use rights to holders of Apes and Punks.”
How do you feel about Yuga Labs giving away IP rights to Cryptopunks/Meebits NFT collection? What do you think about Galaxy Digital’s report concerning BAYC’s IP license? Comment below and let us know how you feel about the subject.
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