When California artist Matt Furie created a drawing of a frog 15 years ago, he never could have known it would one day become Pepe — the infamous, widely memed mascot of the alt-right.
But when the artist found out that Alex Jones, founder of Infowars, had used Pepe for perilous purposes, he was (ahem) Furie-ous — and he decided to sue.
Now, Alex Jones has to pay for Pepe
In a settlement signed Monday, Jones agreed to pay Furie $15k for appropriating Pepe, NPR reports.
According to the settlement, Jones and his company may no longer use Pepe without a license from Pepe’s papa. Furie’s attorney called the outcome a victory. But, in a twist, Jones’ lawyer did, too…
So… is the ambiguous, amphibious drama really over?
Jones’ lawyers insisted that since they were originally sued for millions, the $15k payment was a huge win — a small settlement for a licensing issue, not a dramatic loss of all-powerful Pepe.
Going forward, Furie plans to enforce his intellectual property rights over Pepe more strongly — but it may be hard to repair Pepe’s reputation.