Yuga Labs has settled a long-running lawsuit related to the copycatting of its non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.
Privately held Yuga Labs has reached an agreement with artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, whom the company accused of ripping off its Bord Ape NFTs.
The settlement ends a two-year dispute over whether the artists’ project, which reused Bored Ape imagery, crossed the line from satire into trademark infringement.
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The settlement permanently bars Ripps and Cahen from using any Yuga Labs’ trademarks or imagery in their work. Other terms of the settlement were not disclosed publicly.
Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape NFT collection became one of the most recognizable digital art brands in the world during the market’s peak in 2021 and 2022.
In 2022, Yuga Labs sued Ripps and Cahen, claiming they sold lookalike tokens in their NFT collection and earned millions by confusing buyers.
In their defence, the artists argued that their work was a satirical response to the actual Bored Ape Yacht Club collection and were not outright copies.
A judge in the case initially sided with Yuga Labs and awarded the company nearly $9 million U.S. in damages and legal fees.
But an appeals court subsequently overturned that ruling, saying a jury should decide whether buyers were actually misled by Ripps and Cahen’s artwork.
Now, the out-of-court settlement avoids that jury trial.
The market capitalization for NFTs hit a high of $342.9 billion U.S. in April 2022 before collapsing.
Yuga Labs is a private company and its stock does not trade on a public exchange.
