BREAKING NEWS: Yuga Labs’ Longstanding RR/BAYC Legal Battle Ends In Out Of Court Settlement

After nearly four years, an initial summary judgment, and an appeal, the long running legal battle between Yuga Labs and artist Ryder Ripps alongside crypto personality Pauly0x has officially come to an end.

This week, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Yuga Labs, Ripps, and Pauly0x agreed to an out of court settlement that prohibits the duo from using BAYC trademarks like its logo, grants Yuga Labs control of the pair’s RR/BAYC collection, and transfers several ape related X accounts and websites to Yuga Labs.

As the Gazette previously reported, back in the summer of 2022, Yuga Labs filed a lawsuit against the duo, claiming their RR/BAYC collection violated the company’s trademarks and confused consumers. Ripps and Pauly0x argued the project was parody and intended to highlight what they claimed were neo-Nazi dog whistles within the BAYC collection.

 

Today’s settlement comes after Judge John F. Walter ruled in favor of Yuga Labs in October 2023, awarding the company $1.5 million in damages plus attorney’s fees, a figure that later ballooned to roughly $8 or $9 million.

 

However, that ruling didn’t stick. In 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s summary judgment, finding that Yuga Labs had not proven trademark infringement as a matter of law and that issues like consumer confusion must be decided by a jury.

That ruling reset the case and set the stage for a jury trial, extending an already years long legal battle.

But with today’s settlement, that trial will never happen.

Tonight anyone and everyone can review the case from start to finish here: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63458882/yuga-labs-inc-v-ripps/?entry_gte=278&page=2

 

The Gazette will continue to follow all things NFTs and will let you know when and where digital assets pop up in the courts next. Stay tuned for updates!