Bored Ape Yacht Club wins legal battle, Mandala Metaverse selects Polkadot, Square Enix partners with Elixir Games, and Cricket Stars launches on Tezos

blockchain.news:

Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) creators Yuga Labs have scored a key win in their long-running court battle with Ryder Ripps, the co-creator of copycat NFT project RR/BAYC. Yuga Labs initially filed a complaint against Ryder Ripps and co-founder Jeremy Cahen back in July 2022, alleging that the duo had engaged in trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition, among other things. In a pre-trial summary judgment ruling on April 21, a U.S. district court in central California found that Ripps and Cahen had infringed Yuga Lab’s trademarks with their RR/BAYC NFT collection. The Court further ruled that Yuga Labs is entitled to an injunction and damages, the latter of which will be determined at trial. The case highlights the importance of protecting intellectual property rights in the burgeoning NFT market.

In other news, Mandala Metaverse has chosen Polkadot to host its first major NFT drop on April 28. Mandala Metaverse is a story-based project that has content spanning across TV, graphic novels, gaming, and AR. Its gaming elements have been developed in Epic Game’s Triple-A quality Unreal Engine. The drop, called the «Cryptonauts,» features different avatars that will serve as playable characters in the game. The artwork was illustrated by comic artist Bruce Zick, who has worked on projects for giants such as Disney and Marvel. The decision to take the Cryptonauts NFTs to Polkadot is a significant development for the platform, which is not traditionally known for hosting gaming and NFT projects. The move underscores the potential of Polkadot's future-proof NFT applications and its ability to offer innovative ways to use NFT assets.

In addition, Square Enix has partnered with Web3 infrastructure firm