Library · Crypto, word by word · Tokens and supply
What is the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)?
Bored Ape Yacht Club is a collection of 10,000 NFTs on Ethereum, each linked to its own cartoon ape image. Yuga Labs created it and sold it out between April and May 2021. Owning one also works as a membership pass to the club's online spaces and events.
What it means for you
An NFT's terms decide what you get beyond the token itself. Bored Ape's terms gave buyers personal and commercial rights to their ape image. Other collections give less, so the rights depend on each collection's own terms.
How it works
A federal appeals court describes the collection as created by Yuga Labs through a smart contract on Ethereum, with 10,000 NFTs, each with a sequential Ape ID and its own artwork. Yuga began selling in April 2021 and sold out by the following month. Its terms gave buyers personal and commercial rights to their ape art free of royalty fees, and Yuga earns a 2.5% royalty on resales. Yuga sued two artists over a near-identical copy collection linked to the same ape images. In July 2025 the Ninth Circuit held that an NFT is a good that can carry a trademark, but reversed Yuga's win on infringement because buyer confusion was not proved, and sent the case back.
Source: US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: Yuga Labs, Inc. v. Ripps, No. 24-879 (July 23, 2025) · checked 5 October 2026
Related words
Educational content, not financial advice. Written by hand and checked against the source named above. Something wrong? Tell us and we reply within two business days.