Yuga Labs Reaches Settlement with Artist Ryder Ripps in Trademark Dispute

BlockBeats News, April 9th, according to The Block, BAYC developer Yuga Labs has reached a settlement with conceptual artist Ryder Ripps and his business partner Jeremy Cahen regarding a long-standing trademark dispute. According to court documents, the two parties have agreed to a settlement on the case's claims, with the settlement details yet to be made public. Ripps has been formally barred from using Yuga Labs' brand visual elements and trademarks in the future.

In 2022, Yuga sued Ripps and Cahen, alleging that the two had used the same images and ape character from the original NFT series to create a so-called satirical fork project. Ripps had argued that his RR/BAYC project falls under "expressive fair use art" and is protected by the First Amendment, but in 2023, a federal court ruled that the forked tokens could cause confusion in the NFT market, infringing on Yuga's trademark rights, and ordered the two to pay nearly $9 million. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals later rejected most of Ripps' fair use arguments, overturned the fine judgment, but affirmed that NFTs are protected by trademark law.