Yuga Labs Resolves Lawsuit Over Bored Ape NFT Copycats
- Yuga Labs settled a lawsuit against Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen regarding alleged trademark infringement involving NFTs from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.
- The settlement concludes a two-year dispute over whether the defendants’ project crossed from satire into infringement.
- Court orders will permanently prohibit Ripps and Cahen from using Yuga’s trademarks and imagery, as stated in a federal court filing.
- Initially, a district judge awarded Yuga nearly $9 million in damages, but this was overturned by an appeals court, which called for a jury trial.
- The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed publicly.
This resolution ends a significant legal battle that highlighted issues of copyright and trademark within the rapidly evolving NFT space, particularly concerning artistic expression versus commercial use.
The settlement avoids further litigation after an appeals court previously overturned a substantial damages ruling against the defendants. This case underscores ongoing tensions in the NFT market regarding originality and ownership rights.
