The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that NFTs are eligible for trademark protection, and the Yuga Labs case will be sent back for retrial

according to TheBlock, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has made a mixed ruling in the long-standing case between Bored Ape founder Yuga Labs and artist Ryder Ripps, who previously intentionally sold copies of NFTs as "expressive appropriation art."

The court ruled that NFTs are "goods" eligible for trademark protection and dismissed many of Ripps' legal arguments, but overturned the previous $8 million judgment against Ripps and remanded the case to the lower court for further proceedings, requiring the lower court to reconsider whether RR/BAYC caused consumer confusion. The case began in June 2022, when Yuga Labs accused Ripps of damaging its brand value by issuing the RR/BAYC series of NFTs. The court rejected Ripps' defenses regarding "expressive art" and First Amendment protections, but found that further evidence was needed to prove the likelihood of consumer confusion.