Key Takeaways
Yuga Labs Inc. settled its two-year trademark lawsuit against artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, ending a dispute over a non-fungible token collection that used nearly identical images to Yuga’s Bored Ape Yacht Club. The April 8 settlement avoids a trial and establishes a permanent ban on the artists' use of BAYC trademarks.
The agreement, filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, resolves a contentious case that questioned the line between parody and trademark infringement in the NFT space. "The settlement avoids a trial and ends the dispute over the RR/BAYC NFTs, which claimed to parody Bored Ape Yacht Club, one of the most recognizable NFT brands," according to a filing in California federal court. The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The legal battle saw initial success for Yuga Labs, which won a judgment of approximately $1.4 million in damages and $7 million in legal fees. However, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit later reversed that summary judgment, arguing that a jury needed to determine whether consumers were genuinely confused by the artists' RR/BAYC collection. The defendants had maintained their work was satire aimed at the Bored Ape collection.
The settlement brings a definitive end to the case with twin injunctions that broadly prohibit Ripps and Cahen from using Board Ape Yacht Club imagery. This outcome reinforces intellectual property protections for creators in the digital asset market, setting a precedent for how trademark law applies to NFTs and potentially deterring similar "copycat" projects that claim satirical intent.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
