Yuga Labs Acquires IP Rights to CryptoPunks and Meebits

Yuga Labs, the startup behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Non-Fungible Token (NFT) collection, has acquired the Intellectual Property (IP) rights to the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections from LarvaLabs.

As announced by the startup, the unveiled acquisition implies that Yuga Labs now own the CryptoPunks and Meebits brands, copyright in the art, and other IP rights for both collections, along with 423 CryptoPunks and 1711 Meebits.

The emergence of LarvaLabs back in 2017 changed the capabilities of the Ethereum blockchain and re-aligned what potentials are inherent in the network, one that has been showcased with increased trading volumes in recent times. The acquisition has been tagged as a fusion of CryptoPunks, which represents the history of NFTs, and Bored Apes, arguably, the collection that pushed the world of digital collectables into the future.

As detailed in the announcement, the deal was brokered organically between Yuga Labs’ Partner Guy Oseary and the LarvaLabs founder Matt Hall and John Watkinson. Despite the acquisition, the CryptoPunks creators will not be joining Yuga Labs; instead, they will continue developing the ecosystem around the two iconic collections.

“Yuga Labs are the innovators of the modern profile picture project and the best in the world at operating these projects. They are the ideal stewards of the CrytoPunks and Meebits. In their hands, we are confident that they will continue to be vital, thriving projects in the emerging decentralized web,” the LarvaLabs founders said in a statement.

As part of its plans for acquiring the LarvaLabs’ collections, Yuga Labs said it will be “granting CryptoPunks and Meebits holders the same commercial rights that BAYC and MAYC owners enjoy.”

Drawing on its industry network, Yuga Labs will also be pushing forward the brand image of the LarvaLabs collections such that they will be incorporated in various Web3.0 projects moving forward. While it outlined its plans to continually go forth the utility of all the collections under its brand, Yuga Labs said it will be doing so by heading to the needs of its diverse communities.