Family Guy star Seth Green reportedly paid a huge sum to reclaim his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT. According to a BuzzFeed News report, actor Seth Green was reunited with his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT that he lost in an attack on phishing last month. After the NFT was sold to a collector, Green paid 165 Ether (more that $295,000).
Four of Green’s NFTs valued at more than $300,000. were taken last month. This included Bored Ape NFT #8398 which cost Green $200,000 to buy and was meant to be the star on Green’s new TV show, “White Horse Tavern.”
Green, during a appearance on a Twitter Spas chat confirmed that the NFT was “home.” Transaction Records show that funds were sent from Green’s wallet to Mr. Through crypto escrow platform NFT Trader, Cheese and DarkWing84 were sent funds. After Green had been scammed while trying mint an NFT on a fake website, the collector claimed that he purchased the NFT “in faith”. In May, Green threatened legal actions against DarkWing84 before confirmed that he was in contact with the collector.
OpenSea’s NFT marketplace has left a flag reporting Bored Ape #8398 “suspicious Activity” active. This means that the NFT cannot be purchased or sold on the marketplace. Green therefore turned to NFT Trader to complete the transaction with DarkWing84.
Bored Ape NFTs & IP
It is unclear what prompted DarkWing84, money aside, to return the NFT its original owner. However, the events that occurred raise questions about the IP rights granted by NFT ownership.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT Series licensing rules state that Yuga Labs owns the copyright to this brand. However, the company grants the individual NFTs broad rights to use the image, including unlimited worldwide copyright. The NFT owners have used these licensing rights to create Bored Ape-branded content, including restaurants and bands.
However, these rules don’t take into account NFTs that have been stolen and subsequently resold. This leads to speculation that Green wouldn’t be able continue with his TV show.
The actor was certain that his NFT would be stolen art and anyone who bought it wouldn’t be entitled to exploit the IP.
