In a landmark decision, the ownership of Beeple's digital masterpiece, Everydays: The First 5000 Days, which fetched an astonishing $69.3 million at Christie's in 2021, has been clarified. The winning bidder, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency fund named Metapurse, was represented by the individual known as Metakovan, alongside his associate, Twobadour.
However, by 2022, the partnership between Metakovan, whose real name is Vignesh Sundaresan, and Twobadour, or Anand Venkateswaran, had dissolved. In 2023, Sundaresan initiated legal action against Venkateswaran, asserting claims of trademark infringement and damage to business reputation, contending that Venkateswaran had not played a role in the acquisition of Everydays and was merely a contractor for Metapurse at the time.
This legal tussle reached a resolution in January, when U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken sanctioned a consent judgment between the two parties. The ruling stipulates that Venkateswaran is barred from making any claims regarding his involvement in the purchase of Everydays or associating his name with the entities involved in the transaction, including Metapurse and Portkey Technologies. Both Sundaresan and Venkateswaran endorsed this agreement.
In a follow-up report to the court, Venkateswaran confirmed compliance with the ruling, which involved distancing himself from Portkey's social media accounts and settling an undisclosed payment to Sundaresan and Portkey. He also took steps to rectify any misinformation on third-party websites that linked him to the artwork's purchase.
With this ruling, it is now unequivocally established that Sundaresan is the rightful owner of Everydays.
In a broader context, the NFT market has faced significant challenges recently. Earlier this year, Nifty Gateway, a prominent NFT marketplace, announced its closure, and Christie's has disbanded its digital art department. Furthermore, a recent study indicated that a staggering 95 percent of NFTs may lack value, reflecting a turbulent period for digital assets.
This case not only underscores the complexities of digital art ownership but also highlights the evolving landscape of the NFT market, which may influence future transactions and ownership rights in the digital realm.