CryptoPunks TV Show? Meebits Food Truck? Both Now Possible as IP Rights Get Released

The decision by Yuga Labs, which bought the projects earlier this year, helps answer the question of what NFTs are good for.

By Cam Thompson

Aug 15, 2022 at 10:44 p.m. UTC

Updated Aug 16, 2022 at 7:25 p.m. UTC

Cam Thompson

Cam Thompson is a news reporter at CoinDesk.

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Owners of CryptoPunks and Meebits non-fungible tokens (NFT) are now allowed to use their characters in commercial or personal projects.

That’s the case after Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club, released the intellectual property rights for the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections it bought earlier this year, according to a statement emailed Monday.

The decision helps answer a question often asked by novice cryptocurrency observers: What gives an NFT value? CryptoPunks and Meebits users now have something tangible backing their tokens, potential revenue streams to squeeze out of their digital art that go well beyond just using their JPEGs as a profile picture – with legalese backing them up, too.

NFT holders could develop related projects such as “TV shows, food trucks, clothing, and more – just like the Bored Ape Yacht Club community has been able to do,” Yuga said. “Snoop Dogg and Eminem's BAYC music video was nominated for a [video music award], a video they were able to make because of rights like these.”

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