The Sad Frogs District NFT project was delisted from OpenSea, prompting the Sad Frogs team to file a counter DMCA with the NFT marketplace.
Matt Furie, the creator of the popular and occasionally controversial Pepe the Frog meme, requested that a $4 million frog-themed NFT project be withdrawn from OperSea due to copyright infringement.
The “Sad Frogs District” is an NFT project with 7000 Sad Frog NFTs developed programmatically from a set of roughly 200 attributes. The artwork in the NFTs appears to be influenced by Furie’s character Pepe.
On Aug. 17, multiple individuals wondered why the verified NFT project had been delisted because they could no longer access the Sad Frog NFTs on the platform, according to OpenSea’s Community-help Discord channel.
“Pepe items have been delisted due to a DMCA takedown request by the creator of Pepe, Matt Furie,” an OpenSea administrator later confirmed the delisting.
With a median price of $450 per NFT, the Sad Frogs District opened earlier this month and has already produced over $4 million in trade.
#SadFrogsDistrict #SadFrogsMeme #NFT
WEN MOON!! @SadFrogsD pic.twitter.com/ubMk6cwKVZ
— SF #1615 (@G4yFrog) August 15, 2021A DMCA takedown occurs when a copyright owner claims that their content is being utilised online without their permission and wants that it be removed in order to avoid further legal action.
“We know this is likely disappointing, and we don’t enjoy doing it—that said, we must comply with lawful takedown requests,”the note stated.
While OpenSea was required to comply with the DMCA takedown, the moderator also stated that creators who believe that “their work should not be subject to a DMCA are welcome to file a counter-DMCA.” We are objective and will do what is legally required.”
The Sad Frogs are “inspired by collective artworks of internet artists and cyberpunk aesthetics,” according to the project’s website. After revealing that it has chosen to submit a counter DMCA to OpenSea, the team appears ready to defend the copyright accusations.
The team has already sent on over the counter DMCA to OpenSea, please be patient with us while we await a response. If you have any questions, please join our discord linked in our bio and we will assist your questions as best we can. #FreeSadFrogs ⚔️
— Sad Frogs District (@SadFrogsD) August 16, 2021The project’s artwork does not appear to explicitly resemble Pepe the Frog, so it’s unclear how this DMCA allegation will play out. Pepe designer Furie has an NFT published on OpenSea portraying Star Wars figure Jabba the Hut in his unique painting style, according to Twitter user “Iced Cooly.”
Sad Frogs District @SadFrogsD was delisted from @opensea due to a DMCA by
@Matt_Furie Meanwhile he using Jabba the Hutt to sell his NFTs. pic.twitter.com/Dr4EYmDF2m
— Iced Cooly (@IcedCoolyETH) August 16, 2021According to the Q2 data, gross counterparty loan originations increased more than 130 percent over Q1 to nearly $1.56 billion.
Galaxy’s staff increased by 45 percent in Q2 to roughly 220 personnel worldwide. The firm also mentioned Tim Grant, former CEO of Swiss Exchange SIX Group, who will serve as Head of Europe, and Jennifer Lee, former BlackRock COO, who will become Chief People Officer.
In addition, the company reported a $52 million strategic capital outlay into 14 distinct NFT-related enterprises through direct investments and Galaxy Interactive Fund initiatives.
Novogratz noted that his investments in Major League Baseball collectible platform Candy Digital, NFT game creator Mythical Games, and NFT platform Art Blocks were “most exciting.”
