Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, has reached a settlement with artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen in a long-running legal dispute over alleged trademark infringement and the sale of copycat NFTs.
According to a Notice of Settlement filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, both parties have agreed to resolve all claims related to the case. The filing indicates that the parties will soon submit proposed stipulated injunctions as part of the settlement agreement.
The lawsuit, initially filed in 2022, centered on the defendants’ creation and sale of NFTs under the RR/BAYC name.
Yuga Labs argued that the project copied its widely recognized Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and infringed on its trademarks while misleading buyers into believing the assets were affiliated with the original BAYC collection.
Ripps and Cahen had previously defended the project as a form of artistic expression and commentary on the NFT industry.
However, the dispute evolved into one of the most closely watched legal battles in the digital asset sector, raising broader questions about intellectual property rights, artistic freedom, and trademark enforcement within the NFT ecosystem.
Over the course of the case, courts examined whether the defendants’ activities constituted protected expression or unlawful commercial use of Yuga Labs’ intellectual property. The litigation also highlighted the complexities of applying traditional trademark law to decentralized digital assets such as NFTs.
While the settlement terms have not yet been publicly disclosed, the notice confirms that the parties have reached an agreement to resolve the dispute without continuing further litigation. The proposed injunctions expected to be filed with the court may outline restrictions on the use of BAYC branding and related intellectual property.
The settlement brings an end to a high-profile case that has drawn significant attention from both the crypto industry and the broader legal community. As NFTs continue to evolve as a digital asset class, the dispute underscores the growing importance of intellectual property protection in the rapidly expanding Web3 marketplace.
