Svmuu News Yuga Labs has reached a settlement with artist Ryder Ripps over a long-standing trademark dispute, signaling the near end of the legal controversy surrounding the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).
According to the settlement agreement, Ripps and his partners will be prohibited from continuing to use Yuga Labs' related images and trademarks. The specific terms have not been fully disclosed.
The case began in 2022 when Ripps launched a copycat NFT series (RR/BAYC), using the same ape imagery as BAYC, and described it as a form of "expressive appropriation art." Yuga Labs subsequently filed a lawsuit for trademark infringement.
In 2023, a US court ruled that the copycat project constituted trademark infringement and initially awarded approximately $9 million in damages. A subsequent appeal court partially overturned that ruling and ordered a retrial, leading the case into a protracted tug-of-war phase.