Bored Ape Copycats Get Rekt: Yuga Labs Settles Long-Running IP Battle

Yuga Labs has finally closed the chapter on its beef with artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, burying a nearly four-year legal nightmare that made the Bored Ape Yacht Club look like it needed better copyright lawyers. The copycat NFT saga is over, and unsurprisingly, the apes came out on top.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club creator first dragged the duo to court in June 2022, pointing fingers at Ripps and Cahen for essentially Ctrl+C-ing their cartoon ape visuals and dumping a nearly identical collection called RR/BAYC onto the market. The cheeky part? Users actually bought the knockoffs, confusing the hell out of everyone and filling the artists' wallets with millions they probably shouldn't have earned.

Court documents filed in the Central District of California reveal the settlement terms, and they're about as brutal as getting rugged on a new token launch. Ripps and Cahen are now permanently forbidden from touching Yuga Labs' imagery or trademarks with a ten-foot pole. They also have exactly 10 days to hand over the keys to their smart contracts, domains, and whatever RR/BAYC NFTs are still sitting in their wallets like unwanted JPEG dust.

The court didn't stop there—it also told the pair they better not try any sneaky moves like transferring, assigning, or hiding any NFTs, domains, or assets to dodge compliance. Basically, "don't even think about it."

The artists tried the classic "it's satire, bro" defense, claiming their RR/BAYC NFTs—first minted in May 2022—were parody protected by the sacred words of free speech. The judge wasn't buying what they were selling. In April 2023, the court handed down a ruling that basically said "nice try," found clear copyright violations, and ordered Ripps and Cahen to cough up $1.37 million in profits plus $200,000—which later ballooned to a meaty $9 million after they lost a counterclaim in 2024.

Just when things looked bleakest for the copycats, an appeals court swooped in during 2025 and said "actually, let's get a jury involved," tossing the whole judgment. But instead of facing the music in a courtroom drama, both parties decided to kiss and make up out of court. TheRR/BAYC saga ends not with a bang, but with a quiet settlement—probably because nobody wanted to explain NFTs to a jury of twelve people who still think Bitcoin is a scam.