Jimmy Fallon asks to be excused from testifying in Bored Ape trademark case

Quick Take

  • Fallon’s lawyers said the late-night host has no connection to the case between Yuga Labs and the creators of a “copycat” Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. 
  • The petition asked that Fallon be excused from testifying. 

Lawyers for Jimmy Fallon, star of NBC’s long-running comedy and variety series “The Tonight Show,” have asked that the late-night host be excused from testifying in a Yuga Labs trademark dispute.

In a Monday court filing, Fallon’s lawyers requested that a subpoena requiring the comedian to testify in connection with the Yuga Labs Inc. v. Ripps et al. case be “quashed,” or canceled.

Yuga Labs, the creator of the highly successful NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), is suing Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen for issuing a “copycat” NFT collection that resulted in “trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition," the document said. While Fallon “acquired” a BAYC NFT and talked about the collection on his show, he has nothing to do with the Yuga Labs and Ripps case, his lawyers allege in the petition.

THE SCOOP

Keep up with the latest news, trends, charts and views on crypto and DeFi with a new biweekly newsletter from The Block's Frank Chaparro

By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Fallon's lawyers said the television star “has no connection” to the dispute, is “not a party to the Ripps Litigation and has never met or interacted with Ripps and Cahen.” Additionally, “Ripps and Cahen have needlessly burdened Mr. Fallon” with the subpoena, the petition said.

The filing also stated that Fallon is, along with other celebrities, a defendant in a separate “securities litigation” involving Yuga Labs. Along with Paris Hilton, Fallon is a co-defendant in an ongoing lawsuit that alleges they worked with payment provider MoonPay to misleadingly promote Yuga Labs' "financial products."


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.

Editor

To contact the editors of this story:
Michael McSweeney at
[email protected]
Lucy Harley-McKeown at
[email protected]