Ape vs. Ape: Why Bored Ape Solana Club is a Valuable, Historical NFT Project

This is the story of two bored apes...

One kicks back at a yacht club. The other hangs out at the Solana Club.

The apes are OK with each other; they really don’t have a quarrel. In fact, they populate different universes and never really see each other.

But the regulars attending the Solana Club have their tits in a wringer that the bored apes hanging out there look too much like the bored apes at the yacht club. So, the Solana Club attendees want to kick these nouveau bored apes out of their club.

Be gone, you pesky copycats! This club is much too hoity for you gutter monkeys.

Now, before we go on with what has exploded into quite the divisive issue on the Solana network — Bored Ape Solana Club vs. Bored Ape Yacht Club — let me share four pertinent facts.

1. The United States Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. Section 101 states: A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more preexisting works … consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a “derivative work.” Basically, derivative works are legal and protected by copyright law. You might not be happy that Bored Ape Solana Club exists on the Solana network, but it is a legal work of art, by definition, because it is a modified version of BAYC.
2. Magic Eden, to which SOL network heavyweights have thrust much ire, has publicly stated that it has examined Bored Ape Solana Club and found it to be within the bounds of propriety. Magic Eden sent this to Bored Ape Solana Club: Guys — we’ve been listening to all the feedback on @BoredApeSolClub. We’ve been taking the time to talk to people on both sides of the issue. 1 idea we have is to create a derivative badge added to collections who self-identify as such. (We will come back to that because there’s an investment angle here).
3. Stop reading here and go check out Superlative Apes on OpenSea. I’ll save you the effort: They are a direct knock-off of BAYC, only in pastel colors. They’re generally selling under 1 ETH, and no one — not even BAYC — is making a hullabaloo out of it. If BAYC and OpenSea are copasetic with…