NFT Artist Ryder Ripps Ordered to Pay $1.6M to Bored Ape Yacht Club Creator Yuga Labs in Copyright Infringement Case

Court rules in favor of Yuga Labs, granting $1.38M for disgorgement and $200,000 for cybersquatting violations and issuing a permanent injunction against Ripps and partner Jeremy Cahen for their satirical, yet duplicate, NFT collection.

• NFT Artist Ryder Ripps and his business partner, Jeremy Cahen, have been ordered to pay $1.6 million to Bored Ape Yacht Club's creator, Yuga Labs, over copyright infringement.
• The case was brought after Ripps started selling RR/BAYC NFTs, identical to Yuga Labs' Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. However, Ripps argued these were a form of satire meant to highlight the alt-right, Neo-Nazi undertones he thought permeated BAYC's imagery.
• The court awarded Yuga Labs $1.38 million for a court-ordered repayment of illegally gotten gains and an additional $200,000 for cybersquatting damages. The verdict also ruled that all legal fees should be covered by Ripps and Cahen.
• Ripps and Cahen have been permanently enjoined from further violation activities, and they are obliged to relinquish control of two domain names and two X accounts.
• Despite disagreeing with parts of the court decision, Ripps and Cahen's attorney, Louis Tompros, has indicated that they plan to appeal the verdict.

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