Bored Apes Deliver Final Judgment: Copycat NFT Duo Banned From the Monkey House

Yuga Labs, creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, has settled its long-running legal battle with artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, who were accused of copying the iconic cartoon ape images and profiting from lookalike NFTs. Because nothing says "we take IP rights seriously" quite like a four-year courtroom brawl in the NFT space, amirite?

Court documents filed in the Central District of California revealed that both parties have reached a settlement agreement. Under the terms, Ripps and Cahen are permanently banned from using Yuga Labs' imagery and trademarks. They must also hand over control of the smart contracts, domains, and any remaining NFTs tied to their RR/BAYC project within the next 10 days. Consider it the digital equivalent of being escorted out of the club—by force, with receipts.

The court further ordered the pair not to transfer, assign, conceal, or otherwise dispose of any NFTs, domains, accounts, or other assets to avoid compliance with the injunction. In other words: no sneaky rug pulls allowed, even if you're already getting rug-pulled by the legal system.

The legal saga stretched on for nearly four years. Yuga Labs first filed its lawsuit in June 2022, accusing the artists of copying Bored Ape Yacht Club images, selling lookalike NFTs, and raking in millions as users confused the two projects. That's right—millions made off what was basically ape cosplay. The original apes were not amused.

Lawyers for Ripps and Cahen argued the RR/BAYC NFTs, first minted in May 2022, were satire and parody of the original collection, claiming protection under free speech laws. Ah yes, the "it's just a joke, your honor" defense. Never fails. Well, almost never.

In April 2023, the court sided with Yuga Labs, finding the artists had violated copyright laws and ordering them to pay $1.37 million in profits plus an additional $200,000. The penalty later ballooned to $9 million after they lost a counterclaim in 2024. Nothing like watching legal fees compound faster than your average DeFi yield farm—except nobody's celebrating these gains.

An appeals court later tossed the judgment in 2025, ruling that a jury trial was needed to determine whether Yuga's trademarks were infringed. Because apparently $9 million wasn't dramatic enough, we needed to drag this thing to round three. Crypto courts: where the entertainment never stops.

The RR/BAYC NFTs remain live on OKX Wallet. And there they sit, like digital souvenirs of a courtroom saga that proved even in Web3, you can't just ape someone else's IP and expect to ride off into the sunset—unless you're ready for the lawyers to follow.