Ryder Ripps, Jeremy Cahen and Yuga Labs Settle Bored Ape Yacht Club Lawsuit

by

Summary

  • Artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen have finalized a settlement with Yuga Labs, ending a multi-year legal battle over the Bored Ape Yacht Club trademark
  • The agreement requires the defendants to relinquish control of all RR/BAYC smart contracts, domains, and social media accounts to the NFT creator
  • The settlement follows an appeals court decision that had previously overturned a $9 million judgment and ordered a jury trial to resolve the dispute

Ryder Ripps, a conceptual artist, and his colleague Jeremy Cahen have settled their legal dispute with Yuga Labs, the company behind the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs. This brings a definitive end to a trademark infringement lawsuit that began in 2022. Ripps and Cahen had created their own collection, RR/BAYC, using the same images as the original Bored Apes, claiming it was a form of protected artistic satire. While they argued their project was a First Amendment-protected artwork, a court initially sided with Yuga Labs, finding that the similar artwork caused confusion among consumers.

The recent settlement agreement legally prevents Ripps and Cahen from using any trademarks or images related to the Bored Ape Yacht Club in the future. They are required to quickly remove all traces of their project, transferring ownership of related digital contracts, websites, and NFTs to Yuga Labs within 10 days. Yuga Labs will then destroy these assets, effectively eliminating the derivative project from the blockchain and reinforcing their control over the original digital assets.

After a series of court decisions regarding Web3, a final resolution has been reached. Earlier this year, a court initially ruled that the artists involved owed almost $9 million in damages and legal costs, but that decision was partially reversed on appeal. This change allowed Yuga Labs and the other parties to come to a settlement, avoiding a lengthy trial. Many legal professionals and those building blockchain technology see this case as a crucial legal precedent, clarifying how existing copyright laws apply to digital assets and creative work in the decentralized online world, and setting guidelines for protecting artistic expression in new media.

Read More

2026-04-13 09:56