According to official legal documents filed on Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, representatives for Yuga Labs, alongside artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, informed the court that they had successfully reached a comprehensive settlement agreement to resolve the multi-year dispute once and for all.
Under the terms of the newly finalized settlement, Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen are permanently and unconditionally banned from utilizing Yuga Labs’ proprietary imagery, logos, and trademarks. Furthermore, the two artists are legally mandated to transfer complete administrative control of the smart contracts, web domains, and any remaining non-fungible tokens associated with their controversial RR/BAYC project directly to Yuga Labs within the next ten days.
The federal court has also issued a strict injunction explicitly ordering the pair not to transfer, assign, conceal, or otherwise dispose of any NFTs, internet domains, online accounts, or other related assets referenced in the injunction, nor to cause any of the aforementioned actions to be taken for the purpose of avoiding or frustrating compliance with the court’s directives.
Legal saga ends after nearly four years
The resolution brings a definitive close to a contentious legal saga that was initially scheduled to proceed to a jury trial following a series of conflicting court rulings and subsequent appeals. The controversy first erupted in June 2022, when Yuga Labs initiated legal action against Ripps and Cahen. In its initial complaint, the Bored Ape creator accused the two artists of intentionally copying its iconic cartoon ape imagery, issuing and selling lookalike NFTs, and generating millions of dollars in illicit profits by allegedly deceiving collectors and capitalizing on widespread consumer confusion between the two distinct collections.
Throughout the proceedings, legal counsel representing Ripps and Cahen vigorously defended their clients’ actions. They argued that the RR/BAYC NFTs—which were first minted in May 2022—were designed strictly as a form of artistic commentary, satire, and parody directed at the real Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. Consequently, their defense team maintained that the project was fully protected under constitutional free speech laws and the principles of artistic expression.
Despite these constitutional arguments, the legal tide initially turned sharply against the defendants. In April 2023, the presiding court ruled decisively in favor of Yuga Labs, finding that Ripps and Cahen had violated federal copyright laws by producing unauthorized, commercialized versions of Bored Ape Yacht Club artwork. The court ordered the artists to pay $1.37 million in disgorged profits, alongside an additional $200,000 in associated penalties and legal considerations.
The financial penalty levied against the pair escalated significantly in 2024, climbing to roughly $9 million after Ripps and Cahen suffered a series of setbacks following the dismissal of a counterclaim they had filed against the Web3 company. However, the legal narrative shifted yet again when an appeals court intervened, tossing out the substantial monetary judgment and ruling that the complex matter necessitated a formal jury trial to properly resolve whether Yuga Labs’ intellectual property rights and trademarks had indeed been infringed upon by the artists’ parody defense. Rather than proceeding through the grueling and unpredictable environment of a jury trial, both legal teams have now opted to bring the prolonged chapter to a close through a negotiated settlement agreement, permanently transferring the disputed project assets back to Yuga Labs and ending nearly four years of litigation.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
