Infowars has agreed to settle a copyright lawsuit with the creator of Pepe the Frog over the conspiracy website’s sale of a poster featuring the character.
Matt Furie, who created the frog character featured in the poster sold on the Infowars website, will receive a $15,000 settlement in the case.
{mosads}Furie had sued the website in 2018 for copyright infringement over the poster, which depicted Pepe the Frog alongside figures like President Trump, Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos.
A judge last month ordered the lawsuit to go to trial after finding that some of the copyright questions should be resolved by a jury.
But this settlement, announced by Furie’s attorneys on Monday, will stop that case from moving forward.
The terms of the settlement also bans Infowars from selling any other merchandise featuring Pepe and that the site destroy any remaining Pepe posters, according to Furie’s legal team.
“Infowars had said it planned to ‘free Pepe once and for all,’ but it backed down rather than face trial and lose,” Furie’s lawyer Louis Tompros said in a statement.
“If anyone thinks they can make money selling unauthorized Pepe merchandise, they’re wrong. Mr. Furie will continue to enforce his copyrights, particularly against anyone trying to profit by associating Pepe with hateful images or ideas.”
In an email to The Hill, Infowars attorney Marc Randazza described the $15,000 payout as “measly.”
“Frankly, they’d have made more money if they waited tables with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for three months,” Randazza wrote.
Furie has taken legal action in the past to stop others from using his Pepe character. The frog has been coopted by so-called alt-right communities, and was labeled a “hate symbol” by the Anti-Defamation League in 2016.
He also killed off his own creation in 2017.