Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) creator Yuga Labs has officially resolved its protracted legal battle with artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, bringing an end to a multi-year conflict centered around accusations of copyright infringement, trademark misuse, and the sale of unauthorized lookalike non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
According to legal documents filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on Tuesday, Yuga Labs, alongside artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, formally notified the court that they had reached a comprehensive settlement agreement. The resolution brings a definitive close to a contentious legal saga that has closely followed the shifting landscape of intellectual property rights, digital art, and free expression within the blockchain industry since the explosive growth of the NFT market.
Under the terms of the newly agreed-upon settlement, Ripps and Cahen are subjected to permanent injunctions. Specifically, the two artists are permanently banned from utilizing Yuga Labs’ proprietary imagery, branding, and trademarks. Furthermore, the agreement mandates that Ripps and Cahen must transfer complete control of the underlying smart contracts, web domains, and any remaining NFTs associated with their contentious "RR/BAYC" project directly to Yuga Labs within a strict ten-day window.
The federal court has also issued explicit orders prohibiting the pair from attempting to circumvent the legal obligations. The injunction forbids Ripps and Cahen from transferring, assigning, concealing, or otherwise disposing of any NFTs, internet domains, digital accounts, or other related assets referenced in the court documents. The strict injunction is designed to prevent either party from causing any of the foregoing actions for the purpose of avoiding or frustrating compliance with the court-ordered handover. Despite these impending transfers and the winding down of the legal dispute, historical records indicate that various elements of the RR/BAYC collection have continued to remain accessible on select third-party marketplaces, such as the OKX Wallet.
Legal Saga Ends After Nearly Four Years
The resolution arrives as a sudden conclusion to a legal battle that was previously scheduled to proceed to a jury trial. The path toward a trial had opened up after lower court rulings were contested, prompting appeals that wound their way through the judicial system.
The origins of the legal dispute trace back to June 2022, when Yuga Labs initiated legal action in federal court against Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen. In its initial complaint, the prominent Web3 and digital collectible company accused the two artists of systematically copying its signature Bored Ape Yacht Club cartoon ape images. Yuga Labs asserted that Ripps and Cahen were actively marketing, promoting, and selling lookalike NFTs that closely mirrored the original multi-million dollar collection, resulting in substantial profits for the defendants while causing widespread confusion among prospective buyers and collectors who struggled to distinguish between the authentic collection and the lookalike project.
Conversely, legal representation acting on behalf of Ripps and Cahen mounted a defense grounded heavily in constitutional principles. Lawyers argued that the RR/BAYC NFTs—which were first minted in May 2022—were conceptualized and executed as a form of satire, artistic commentary, and parody directed at the original Bored Ape Yacht Club collection and the broader culture surrounding speculative digital assets. Consequently, the defense maintained that the project constituted protected speech and fell safely within the legal boundaries afforded by free speech protections.
The litigation saw significant milestones as the case progressed through the federal court system. In April 2023, the presiding judge ruled heavily in favor of Yuga Labs. The court concluded that Ripps and Cahen had indeed violated copyright laws by creating unauthorized iterations of the Bored Ape Yacht Club artwork and commercializing them. Following that determination, the court ordered the defendants to surrender $1.37 million in profits generated from the venture, alongside an additional $200,000 in supplementary financial penalties.
As the legal maneuvering continued, the financial liabilities facing the defendants expanded significantly. By 2024, the monetary penalty levied against Ripps and Cahen climbed to an estimated $9 million after the pair suffered further setbacks in court following the loss of a counter-claim. However, the legal trajectory shifted once again in 2025 when an appeals court intervened, ultimately overturning the previous major judgment in favor of Yuga Labs. The appeals panel determined that the complex nature of the dispute required a full jury trial to properly resolve the core questions at hand, particularly concerning whether Yuga Labs’ registered trademarks had genuinely been infringed upon by the parody defense raised by the artists.
Rather than proceeding through the anticipated jury trial, both sides have now opted to formalize a settlement agreement, permanently resolving the long-standing dispute and defining the future disposition of the disputed digital assets and smart contracts.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
