Yuga Labs settles lawsuit against artists accused of copying its NFTs

Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs has settled its long-running lawsuit with a pair of artists accused of profiting off lookalike NFTs.

According to documents filed in the District Court for the Central District of California on Tuesday, Yuga Labs and artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen told the court they had reached a settlement agreement.

As part of the settlement, Ripps and Cahen are permanently banned from using Yuga Lab's imagery and trademarks and will transfer control of the smart contracts, domains and any remaining NFTs associated with their RR/BAYC project to Yuga Labs within the next 10 days.

The court has also ordered the pair not to “transfer, assign, conceal, or otherwise dispose of any NFTs, domains, accounts, or other assets referenced in this Injunction, or cause any of the foregoing, for the purpose of avoiding or frustrating compliance.”

Legal saga ends after nearly four years

The matter was initially scheduled for a jury trial after a court ruled in favor of Yuga Labs, and Ripps and Cahen appealed the judgments. 

Yuga Labs first filed a lawsuit in June 2022, accusing Ripps and Cahen of copying its Bored Ape Yacht Club cartoon ape images, selling lookalike NFTs, and profiting millions as users confused the two projects.

Lawyers acting for Ripps and Cahen argued the RR/BAYC NFTs, first minted in May 2022, were satire and a parody of the real Bored Ape Yacht Club collection and were protected under free speech laws.

Related: Judge tosses lawsuit against Yuga Labs over failure to satisfy Howey test

In April 2023, the court ruled in favor of Yuga Labs and found that Ripps and Cahen had violated copyright laws by creating unauthorized versions of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and ordered them to pay $1.37 million out of their profits, plus an additional $200,000.

The penalty later grew to $9 million after Ripps and Cahen lost a counterclaim in 2024. An appeals court later tossed the judgment in 2025 and ruled that a jury trial was required to resolve the matter and decide whether Yuga’s trademarks were infringed. 

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