NFTs: The Latest Technology Challenging Copyright Law’s Relevance Within a Decentralized System
Rebecca Carroll
Note
NFTs: The Latest Technology Challenging Copyright Law’s Relevance Within a Decentralized System
Rebecca Carroll
Note
The full text of this Note may be found here.
32 Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J. 979 (2022).
Note by Rebecca Carroll*
ABSTRACT
[N]
on-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) redefine society’s understanding of digital ownership and transform how creators distribute original works to consumers. This unique and often misunderstood technology has the potential to yield extraordinary value for both creators and consumers. While NFTs have existed for some time now, the recent frenzy caused by several high-value sales of NFTs exposed a number of unanswered legal questions, particularly in copyright law. NFTs also raise ideological concerns over how much, if any, government oversight and regulation should exist over the “open” internet. This Note explores copyright law’s application to NFTs and seeks to address a number of unanswered copyright law questions, including who has the right to mint a copyrighted work into an NFT. This Note then seeks to address how extending application of copyright law to the decentralized system can support the ideals of a free and open internet.
*J.D. Candidate, Class of 2023, Fordham University School of Law. Notes and Articles Editor, Volume XXXIII, Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal. Thank you to Nicole Kim, Caroline Vermillion, and Laura Rann for their assistance, feedback, and revision in writing this Note. Thank you to Professor Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid for her guidance and expertise. Thank you to Reid Carroll for inspiring me to write this paper and to Susan Light Carroll, Francis Carroll, Daniel Levinson, and Vicki Light for their encouragement and unwavering support.