# IP and copyright — what's real and what isn't The most developed idea on the tape, and the one that most needs checking. Crash's framework is coherent; his application of it to his own book is not. --- ## His framework, in his words **No IP is survivable on ETH/Base, fatal on Solana.** > [63:12] *"it's not like any of these Wojaks have IP rights… that's a disaster on Salana because you're gonna have like 20 different ones all trying to fight at the same time."* > [63:40] *"whenever you don't have the IP rights, you have a massive advantage on Ethereum instead of Solana. There is more concentration of liquidity on Ethereum. There is less launches."* > [67:25] *"the king play is IP on a top tier meme of Salana."* That is a real argument about dilution and liquidity concentration, and it's largely right. --- ## Actual IP status of every meme in the book | Meme | Rights holder | Licensed to the coin? | Grade | |---|---|---|---| | **Troll** | Carlos Ramirez "Whynne" (2008) | ✅ **Yes** — exclusive, signed 29 Aug 2025 | Real | | **Ponke** | The project itself | ✅ Owns it; licensing outward via agency 223 | Real | | **Bobo** | Anonymous 4chan /biz/ (Jun 2018) | 🟡 Founder *is* the principal artist; no registration | De facto | | **Wojak** | Nobody — anonymous, ~2009/2010 | 🟡 No copyright possible; 3 pending trademarks | Contested | | **Brett** | Matt Furie, *Boy's Club* | ❌ None. Self-declared "fan tribute" | None | | **Pepe** | Matt Furie | ❌ None | None | | **Utya** | Egor Zhgun / Telegram | ❌ None, and no disclaimer either | None | | **Cupsey** | A pseudonymous handle | ⚪ Nothing to license | None | | **Chonketha** | Uncredited viral photo | ❌ None | None | | **LAYOOO** | Uncredited viral clip | ❌ None | None | --- ## Where his own book breaks his own framework | Position | Chain | Has IP? | Passes his test? | |---|---|---|---| | Troll | Solana | Yes | ✅ | | Wojak | ETH | No | ✅ (no-IP is fine on ETH) | | Brett | Base | No | ✅ (concentration) | | **Bobo** | **→ Solana** | **No** | ❌ | | **Cupsey** | Solana | No | ❌ | | **Chonketha** | Solana | No | ❌ | | Utya | TON | No | ⚪ n/a — TON has no dilution problem | **One position in his book has real IP.** He tells you no-IP on Solana is a disaster, then puts three no-IP assets there — and moves Bobo there deliberately. --- ## What IP actually buys — and it isn't what he says He frames it defensively: *"no one else can PVP you anymore."* The documented function is different. Ramirez **said he had no intention of pressing copyright claims**. The deal was done because the community expected **exchanges to require IP clearance for listing.** **But no exchange publishes such a requirement.** Checked directly: | Exchange | IP/trademark requirement in published criteria | |---|---| | Binance | *"There are no set requirements."* Zero IP references | | Coinbase | Legal / compliance / technical — securities and AML only | | Kraken | Five factors, none about brand rights | | Upbit / DAXA | Risk, securities classification, AML | The claim traces to one statement by TROLL's community lead reported in Decrypt, which Decrypt itself notes was **not stated as a requirement**. **And the empirical refutation comes from his own book:** ETH Wojak got listed on Binance.US on 18 June 2026 as `1MWOJAK` — with no trademark, no licence, and an application filed a month earlier that is still unassigned to an examiner. What registration genuinely buys: platform impersonation takedowns (X, Discord, App Store all want a registration number), UDRP domain recovery, merch protection. Which is why Ponke's only healthy filing is in **Class 25 — clothing**, not a crypto class. --- ## The Wojak trademark race Four live applications, none registered, verified at USPTO TSDR: | Serial | Owner | Basis | First use | Status | |---|---|---|---|---| | 99545728 | ALPHA Vault Intl (Panama) | 44(d) EU priority, 5 classes | none claimed | Withdrawn before publication, 7 Aug 2026 | | 99701486 | FeelsGuy LLC (DE) | 1(a) | 3 Nov 2025 | **Suspended** 25 Jun 2026 | | 99701507 | FeelsGuy LLC — design mark | 1(a) | 3 Nov 2025 | 2nd non-final Office Action, 5 Aug 2026 | | **99819253** | **Wojak CTO LLC** | 1(a) | **17 Apr 2023** | Awaiting examiner | FeelsGuy's counsel is **Ariel Givner** — the same attorney who papered the Trollface deal, now acting for a competitor to the Wojak Crash backs. ### Odds of registration: low | Outcome by ~2029 | Estimate | |---|---| | Wojak CTO registers in class 36 | **10–15%** | | Any of the four registers | ~20–25% | | All still suspended or dead | **~60%** | Three reasons: **1. Failure to function — TMEP §1202.04(b).** Refuses matter that is *"a common phrase or message that consumers are accustomed to seeing used… by a variety of sources."* The test is whether third parties use the term freely — so **the meme's own virality is the evidence that defeats the application.** Crash's own line, *"Wojak is used by millions of people daily,"* is an examiner's exhibit A. Precedent: the Dogecoin Foundation's "D" logo drew exactly this refusal plus genericness; both applications are dead. **2. Nobody has ever done it.** No memecoin *name* has been registered as a US trademark in a crypto class. DOGECOIN word marks: suspended since 2021 (~56 months). PEPE/PEPECOIN: in TTAB opposition. DOGWIFHAT: died Feb 2026 after reaching Notice of Allowance. **TROLLFACE the trademark died abandoned in Dec 2022** — same meme, known author, registered copyright, and the trademark still failed. The only class-36 crypto registration found is a design-only mark with no word elements, owned by an unaffiliated third party. **3. Void ab initio risk, specific to Wojak CTO.** Their 17 Apr 2023 first-use date belongs to the *original* project, before the community takeover. Claiming it requires a written assignment carrying goodwill (15 U.S.C. §1060) from a pseudonymous predecessor. Without it the application is void under TMEP §1201.02(b) — not curable, must refile and lose the date. That date is simultaneously their best asset and their biggest liability. --- ## Two things to correct if they come up **Bobo is not a Matt Furie character.** 4chan /biz/, June 2018, derivative of Apu Apustaja (itself an unofficial Pepe derivative). Boy's Club is Andy, Brett, Landwolf, Pepe. **Matt Furie has endorsed zero memecoins.** Not $SPIKE, not $MATT, not $PEPE. His only genuine crypto asset is ZOGZ Editions (NFTs, May 2023). May 2023, on a Space: *"this is the first I've heard of it. What is Pepe coin?"* His X account was compromised twice in 2026 promoting tokens — treat any "Furie endorses X" headline as hostile until proven otherwise. He has enforced before (Infowars, $15,000 settlement, 2019).