Non-fungible token (NFT) releases are on a consistent hot streak, but Lil Yachty has developed a legal feud with one in particular.

On Jan. 27, the rapper filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Opulous, an artist-focused NFT platform, according to Rolling Stone. Lil Yachty claims that the company “maliciously” used his name and likeness to make a hefty profit.

More Of The Backstory

Back in June 2021, Opulous announced its partnership with crypto exchange Binance. To kick off the collaboration, Opulous revealed in a press release its collections and “exclusive launch content” from artists Lil Yachty and Kyle that were dropped on the Binance NFT Marketplace.

Lil Yachty v. Opulous

The legal battle began once Lil Yachty caught wave that the company raised over $6.5 million in capital, yet he says he got the shortest end of the stick of receiving zero coins from the NFT collection.

In his filing, he stated that his only contact with Opulous was with its founder, Lee Parsons, in exploratory conference calls that had no communication on any agreement or deal terms, the outlet reports.

“Of course, it is axiomatic that in order to offer the ownership interest to any musician’s copyrighted work, defendant, Opulous, must first have the agreement and consent of the musician at issue to sell the copyright to his or her work, with the musician in turn entitled to a share of the proceeds from the sale thereof,” the lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles states.

YachtyCoin

Despite his current ongoing negative experience with the NFT space, Lil Yachty’s entry into cryptocurrency started on a positive note.

As previously reported by AfroTech, the Grammy-nominated artist launched his own currency, “YachtyCoin,” on Fyooz in December 2020. The social coin dropped with the intent for fans to invest in his venture to take ownership and become shareholders/investors in his career, as well as be a new reliable source of income during the pandemic woes artists have faced.

“We are very excited to welcome Lil Yachty as a pioneering voice for this new generation, the face of cool and the sound of rhyme… These qualities make Lil a billboard for Fyooz,” Fyooz co-founder/CEO Remo Prinz said in a statement. “He remains in constant motion and today instead of aiming to endure the problems existing within old industry models, Lil Yachty has joined with Fyooz to create new methods of getting closer to fans and in so doing creating a new investment paradigm for both fans and stars globally.”