Brief - The Hustle

The fight for Pepe the Frog is finally over… or is it?

Written by Conor Grant | Jun 30, 2020 10:34:19 AM

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.