Without legal parameters, fraud is inevitable The NFT purchaser owns nothing more than a unique hash on the blockchain with a transactional record and a hyperlink to the file of the artwork. So unless an external agreement is made between the artist and the buyer, the bundle of copyrights to an NFT still belong to the original artist. But a lack of copyright trading infrastructure that complies with international law makes the exchange of NFT copyrights impossible on current platforms. When artwork is created and auctioned on an NFT marketplace, the copyright functions almost exactly as it would in an in-person scenario, with the copyright retained by the artist. Naturally, this protection is guaranteed for the original work that an NFT represents. Creators need not apply for these protections - the state provides them inherently upon the creation of the work.

In Canada, for example, copyright protection extends to literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works in addition to performances, recordings and other related works. While every jurisdiction defines “works” in different ways, none stray too far from the essentials. The range of possibilities for what can be an NFT coincides surprisingly well with works eligible for copyright.

Many equate this exclusive form of ownership with ownership of the work itself, but the distinction must be emphasized. Because every NFT represents a unique asset, a single NFT can’t be duplicated while maintaining the same value as the original. The truth is, NFTs are just tokens that represent an asset, completely separate from the assets themselves. When viewed at face value, it’s easy to understand the confusion. High hopes abound for the potential of NFTs to serve as copyright alternatives, with many believing them to be copyrights themselves. Understanding the legal pitfalls of the contemporary NFT ecosystem is the first step in unlocking its potential. But when combined with art, there are overlaps to consider. As a new crypto asset class, NFTs appear to exist almost unbound by current regulatory systems. A look inside a blockchain’s transactions will provide all the information needed about when an NFT was traded, who was involved in the transaction and how much was spent.īut the reality of NFT ownership is much more complicated than one might imagine. Blockchain inherently records time-stamped data on all transactions, with a permanent indication of ownership across a distributed ledger. Harrison Jordan is the founder and CEO of HUP.LIFEįor contemporary artists, attaching work to the blockchain in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) may seem like a secure and verifiable way to sell art online.

How to copyright your work for cheap