In a shock announcement, Yuga Labs has purchased the mainstream NFT projects CryptoPunks and MeeBits from Larva Labs, to add to its Bored Ape Yacht Club project. This is a merger of two of the major NFT stables which have been dominating mainstream attention.
Yuga and Larva labs confirmed via Twitter on Friday that Yuga now owned the brands and IP in both NFT collections, but Larva would be keeping its Autoglyphs project.
https://twitter.com/yugalabs/status/1502420714527334406?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
However, the more exciting news lies in the prospect of the changes this could bring to the community of owners of CryptoPunks or MeeBits NFTs.
Yuga Labs also announced that it intends to expand the licensed rights which are granted to the owners of NFTs in the projects, to allow them similar commercialisation rights to those granted to the owners of Yuga’s Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs.
There has been growing concern in the NFT community at the stalemate and uncertainty relating to the restrictive license terms for the CryptoPunks NFTs (which are more restrictive than the MeeBits’).
This move would allow NFT owners more freedom to explore commercialising their NFT artwork, albeit within the range of activities which are permitted by the licence.
We await further details of the licence changes have yet to be confirmed by Yuga Labs.
This deal emphasises three important factors about the current NFT market:
- the potential residual value of the IP underlying an NFT;
- the lack of standardisation of NFT licence terms, particularly regarding commercial usage and resale royalties;
- the power of the owner of the underlying IP, in particular to change the NFT’s licence terms.
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Should you have any questions, or wish to discuss any issues raised in this article, please get in touch with the author of this article Memery Crystal’s Chris Pulham. If you are having any issues in relation to an NFT you have purchased or sold please get in touch with Rosenblatt disputes partner Laura Clatworthy.
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