Lil Yachty Settles Lawsuit Against NFT Seller Over ‘Blatant’ Use of His Name And Image
Written by djfrosty on April 12, 2023
Lil Yachty has reached a settlement with a non-fungible token (NFT) seller called Opulous over allegations that the company used his name and likeness without permission to raise over $6.5 million in venture capital funds.
Yachty (real name Miles Parks McCollum) sued the company last year, claiming that Opulous launched an advertising blitz for a “Lil Yachty NFT Collection” that would give buyers access to new music from the rapper — without ever securing his approval.
But in a filing on Tuesday (April 11), attorneys for the company notified a federal judge that it had reached a settlement with Yachty to resolve the case. They said the case would be dismissed within 45 days, after the deal is finalized. Neither side offered additional details on the terms of the deal.
Yachty’s case against Opulous was one of several lawsuits filed last year over NFTs, a buzzy form of digital collectible that skyrocketed in popularity in 2021. But the market for NFTs largely collapsed last year, and the lawsuits filed over them are also beginning to drop off.
In his January 2022 complaint, Yachty called the Opulous project, which also included images of him, a “blatant and conscious disregard for plaintiff’s exclusive legal rights.” It additionally claimed that the company did press interviews about his alleged involvement in the project.
His lawyers said that Opulous had pitched his management team about a potential partnership, and that he joined a second call for a “a general introductory meeting,” but that the two sides never came close to signing a deal.
“There were no further communications between the parties, and accordingly no agreement or deal terms for plaintiff’s involvement in the defendants’ launch of the Opulous platform was ever reached,” the lawsuit read.
But even without his approval, Opulous then allegedly announced it would be launching a line of music NFTs and be “kicking things off with a series of unmissable NFT drops led by world-famous artists including Lil Yachty.” That was allegedly followed by numerous social media posts featuring similar claims, as well as images of the rapper, the suit said.
The suit, which also named Opulous founder Lee James Parson and his Ditto Music as defendants, claimed a slew of specific violations, including trademark infringement, unfair competition and a violation of Lil Yachty’s so-called right of publicity — the right to control how your name and likeness are commercially exploited.