Yuga Labs settles Bored Ape NFT lawsuit, ending fight over alleged copycat tokens
The settlement avoids a trial and ends the dispute over the RR/BAYC NFTs, which claimed to parody Bored Ape Yacht Club, one of the most recognizable NFT brands.
What to know:
- Yuga Labs settled its two-year lawsuit against artist Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen over their RR/BAYC NFT collection, which reused Bored Ape imagery. The settlement bars them from using Yuga’s trademarks.
- The dispute centered on whether the project was satire or trademark infringement. A judge initially awarded Yuga nearly $9 million in damages, but an appeals court overturned that ruling, requiring a jury to decide if buyers were misled.
- The settlement avoids a trial and ends the dispute over the Bored Ape Yacht Club, one of the most recognizable NFT brands.
Proposed court orders would permanently bar Ripps and Cahen from using Yuga’s trademarks and imagery, according to a filing in California federal court. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Yuga’s Bored Ape collection became one of the most recognizable NFT brands during the market’s peak. The firm sued in 2022, claiming Ripps and Cahen sold lookalike tokens in their RR/BAYC NFT collection and earned millions by confusing buyers. The defendants argued their work was a satirical response to the actual Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.
A district judge initially sided with Yuga and awarded nearly $9 million in damages and fees. But an appeals court later overturned that ruling, saying a jury should decide whether buyers were actually misled. The settlement avoids that trial.
