Intellectual Property Insights from Fishman Stewart
Mini Article – Volume 23, Issue 3
Share on Social
Nothing Says Love Like an NFT
By Kristyn C. Webb
Looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift? How about a non-fungible token (“NFT” for short). NFTs are digital certificates of ownership of assets, such as artwork (physical or virtual). A digital certificate of ownership is created, or “minted,” and then recorded on a blockchain ledger—a decentralized, digital, and public ledger—that records changes in ownership of the asset associated with the NFT.
As an analogy, like an NFT certifying ownership of its underlying asset, a vehicle title certifies ownership of its associated asset—an automobile. As the automobile changes ownership, the transactions are recorded at a state department of motor vehicles. Similarly, when an NFT is sold, the ownership of the NFT, and by extension whatever asset it represents, is updated on a blockchain ledger.
When shopping for NFTs, like any other goods, buyer beware! Counterfeit and infringing items exist on the blockchain, too. For example, a jury just found artist Mason Rothschild liable for infringing Hermès International’s intellectual property by selling “MetaBirkins”—NFTs of virtual handbags styled and named after the physical Birkin bags.
Rather than going fishing for the unknown, perhaps check out NFT Finny! We recently minted our very own NFT, with the underlying asset being the below illustration of our beloved Finny. Finny now lives on a blockchain! You can collect a copy of Finny’s NFT artwork on OpenSea. Any proceeds will go to support The Ocean Conservancy.
Want to see other examples of NFTs? Check out some of our articles about NFTs in hoops, NFTs for collectables, or NFTs in court.
Kristyn Webb is the Group Leader of Fishman Stewart’s Copyright Practice Group, and is currently earning a Master’s Degree in Copyright Law at King’s College London.
Published February 10, 2023
Related Content from Fishman Stewart
People have long pondered whether or not the Giza pyramids were indeed solely burial chambers, which was the only known, and archaeologically determined, use—until now.
By 1930, efforts began in New York to replace Mother's Day with Parent's Day because men were more than just breadwinners. Those efforts didn't catch on, probably because in that era, women often spent more time in the home.
In February, Nike and Skims announced that they will be working together on a new brand, NikeSkims. The co-brand will create a new line of training apparel, footwear, and accessories specifically designed to meet the unique needs of women athletes.
Generally, federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over copyright cases, and often, this presents an insurmountable paywall for individual artists and small businesses to vindicate their rights, especially where the value of the individual copyrighted works are relatively low.
Dedicated to raising public awareness about the importance of encouraging innovation and creativity throughout the world, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) annually observes World Intellectual Property Day on April 26 to showcase the role that patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyrights and trade secrets play in our everyday lives.
Hold onto your foam fingers, sports fans – college sports just got a whole lot more interesting! The latest updates to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules are making student-athletes bigger than ever, and it’s not just about the game anymore.
Did a federal court in Louisiana recently decide that US copyrights are global rights? It seems so.
One of his most famous songs, “Lose Yourself” was recently at the center of a lawsuit. In 2019, Eminem’s publishing company Eight Mile Style sued Spotify claiming that Spotify streamed a number of its musical compositions without proper licenses.
One of the most common challenges is whether AI should be free to train on data that is protected by copyright and owned by third parties without first obtaining permission.
The U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) recently published its latest report on AI and “copyrightability.” In short, the USCO considers only some AI-generated works to be sufficiently creative as to deserve copyright protection, and thus, registration.
IDENTIFYING, SECURING AND ADVANCING CREATIVITY®
