Opensea Removes A BAYC Derivate For Copyright Infringement. Find Out The Details Here

Opensea has removed a Bored Ape Yacht Club derivate project after BAYC owners reached out about copyright infringement.

Recently a project titled, Turned Apes appeared on Opensea. As the name implies, this project was identical to the BAYC but instead of the apes facing to the viewers right (they faced left). The apes used in the project did not approve the use.

“Why am I even bothering," JMRLD tweeted. “This person has made .15 already including on an ape that I own originally and all directions. f*ck OS. if you have an ape serial #321 or below, you're shits being stolen & sold for profit as we speak.”

After seeing JMRLD’s tweet, the Bored Ape Gazette reached out the Opensea’s Head of Product, Nate Chastain. An hour and a half later, Chastain tweeted a statement about the project.

“We've taken down a derivative BAYC collection because many BAYC owners (rights-holders) reached out to us with copyright violation reports, Except in cases of fraud, OS relies on creators and rights holders to indicate which derivatives they feel constitute infringement,” Chastain tweeted.

After the project’s removal, several in the BAYC community celebrated the move.

“Big win for BAYC today, Ape 6056 AKA The Ape Father tweeted. “Act like scum get treated like scum.”

After removal of Turned Apes, some in the BAYC are wondering what their options are if their copyrights are violated.

The Bored Ape Gazette reached out to BAYC member, Spottiewifi, who offered some options for apes who find themselves in this unfortunate situation.

“Nate (Chastain) was very helpful when I reached out to ask how to complain about CryptoPhunk 5528 as well as the CryptoBabyPunk project,” Spottie said. “He gave me the email address copyright@opensea.io to email a DMCA complaint, which I did. The team replied to me and delisted the offending listings within a few hours.”

If you ever see a project that is infringing on your or any other Bored Apes copyright, feel free to reach out to Chastain on Twitter @natechastain.