NFT as evidence of copyright: is it really easy?

As art becomes digital, and document management goes online, new technologies appear that erase physical boundaries. NFT (non -replaced tokens) is a great example. The new phenomenon in the field of blockchain and cryptocurrencies offers an innovative way of registering copyright. Still do not believe that a digital coin can replace a pile of paper documents and protect your copyright? The future is closer than it seems!

What is NFT?

If you follow the information field around, but the term NFT slipped past you, it’s time to urgently make up for this gap! NFT is not just a trend, but a completely viable technology that promises to become a full -fledged digital copyright system.

Non-Fungible token (non-free token) is a cryptographic token in a single copy, t.e. it cannot be exchanged or replaced with other similar token. NFT appeared on the Ethereum blockchain in 2017 and today are represented by ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards tokens. If you have heard about the blockchain game Crypto Kitties, you have an idea that it is for NFT. Virtual cat, for example.

Until recently, such tokens were associated with game objects (artifacts) in online games and digital collectible objects. Today NFT means authorship for any object, whether it is an audio road, picture, gif, baseball card, etc.D. Note that an incorrect token is not a digital subject – this is evidence of exclusive copyright or ownership right. That is why it is presented only in a single copy.

Is there NFT in Russia?

Since we are talking about blockchain and cryptography, there are no geographical restrictions here. Cryptocurrencies have already been rooted in the life of advanced Russians, so the introduction of NFT is just a matter of time. Unlike local jurisdictions, this technology will become generally accepted at the international level, which will greatly simplify the process of registering and protecting copyright around the world.

Is it legal in Russia? The answer depends on the fact that there is NFT – cryptocurrency or digital law. Most likely the second. At the moment, in Russian legislation there are no articles prohibiting the use of digital rights. Since NFT is not officially cryptocurrency, we can buy, sell and store incorrect tokens.

“Why do I need it at all?” – you ask. In fact, each of us at least once in our life has encountered authorship problems, and thanks to NFT we can avoid this in the future.

It is worth noting that the registration of copyright is optional in the Russian Federation, but if you want to fix it, you should contact the RAO (“Russian author’s society”). Duties for registration of copyright do not bite, but RAO “does not deposit computer programs, trademarks, logos, slogans and“ winged phrases ”, as well as the names of textual, https://gagarin.news/news/where-to-buy-ego-d/ musical and other works”. What can we say about gifs and digital art?

In addition, in Russia, to protect the right to created works, there is a procedure for depositing copyright objects, t.e. Transfer to store a copy of the work. Copyright deposit allows you to fix that at a particular moment in time the work already existed in a specific form, and the author is a certain person.

In any case, depositing will not do without a notary, bureaucracy, duties, expenses and endless waiting. And what if you simplify this procedure up to one click and one payment? This is possible with NFT!

How it works?

Everything is super-just. Thanks to NFT, the procedure for transferring rights boils down to one step – buying token. Consider the process in more detail.

We go to some popular NFT marketplace, for example, Rarible (they mainly conduct auctions here), Superrare, Niftygateway or Opensea . We look at the lots: collection objects of digital art, domains, game items, sports cards, etc.D. The choice is impressive!

But if all this looks unprecedented for you, and investment in digital art sounds like nonsense, do not rush with conclusions. By the way, Lampas and Banksi have already sold their work for 16 ETH and 228 ETH, respectively.

So, select the item you like, click, watch its description and price:

By the way, platforms like Opensea allow you to track the history of the cost of NFT token: this will help you decide whether it is worth investing in it. If everything suits you, click “Buy”. For forget to connect your Ethereum wallet and replenish it with a margin: in addition to the cost of NFT, you must pay a commission in GAS FEE). Recently, it is $ 20-70 depending on the loading of the system.

After buying NFT, you can proudly call yourself a “digital collector”. Do not forget to follow the price of your token: perhaps it will increase in the near future.

Token means possession?

So far it is not entirely. Buying token does not mean full ownership of the subject. Rather, you acquire a “licensed digital form of the product”. Token is only a representation of something, whether it be a picture or a song. You cannot dispose of the copyright of the Creator. That’s why the NFT possession is considered from the investment side rather than the practical.

The current NFT system resembles a demo version of digital copyright. Most likely, in the near future, tokens will begin to have more significant legal force around the world.

Can I create my NFT?

Definitely yes! NFT on the crest of the Hype wave, and if you offer something worthwhile and attract an audience to the auction, your income may many times exceeds the expectations. So, for example, happened to Mike Vinkelmann (pseudonym Beeple), which put a collage called Evedayys at the auction of Christie’s. At a start price of $ 100, it was sold on March 11, 2021 for $ 69.34 million, which made it a third most cost of a work of contemporary art.

And what prevents you? Actually, nothing. You can create your NFT token in just a few steps:

• Register on Opensea or Rarible
• Make a wallet with Ethereum support (for example, Metamask)
• Create content you want to promote
• Create a collection in your account, download the logo and make a description to it
• Download the media file that you want to convert into token. It can be a picture, video, 3D model, sound. Permissible JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, MP4, WebM, MP3, WAV, OGG, GLB, GLTF (not more than 100 MB). You can add an additional description and blocked text (which only the buyer sees).
• After the token has passed moderation, it can be put up for sale at a fixed price or for auction. To do this, you will have to pay a commission in gas.

Now if you want to earn as much as possible, you need to promote your content and your name. Many beginners and experienced creators are now engaged in this and their efforts pay off.

Money from the air

What happens, absolutely anyone can call their work the loud word “digital art” and make crazy money on it? So far, there are no strict restrictions for the creators of the content: if their creations have passed moderation on the NFT platform, you can freely monetize.

Most likely, in view of the influx of the creators of NFT, the platforms will begin to regulate the Minting (release) procedure and put forward the requirements for the content and its creators. This will help to exclude the tokens who are no information or artistic value. But art is a subjective thing, so the development of rules will take time and, for sure, will not do without precedents.

One of the pioneers in the NFT market, the Rarible platform was created in Russia. Will its creators take the first steps on the way to the regulation of the release of tokens? Most likely, the growing number of scams and complaints will force them to implement additional verification procedures. So far, the only thing Rarible offers is to check the name and social networks of human. But this does not guarantee the authenticity of his content.

So far, no one can guarantee the authenticity of content, it is worth being guided by common sense and not buy dubious tokens. How to recognize them? For example, the user warning that the token was not checked by the team may look like this:

In general, if you have doubts about investments in this or that NFT, or you want to correctly create and promote your tokens, consult with specialists in the field of IT legal, for example, the GMT Legal team . They will help you choose the most reliable tokens and platforms.

Our world has irrevocably entered the era of digital technologies: we pay with plastic cards, have access to the Internet 24/7, listen to music from wireless headphones … So why not make legal online documents? NFT allow digging interaction with almost any virtual or physical objects, so their occurrence is quite natural.

And let the NFT market today seem to be a chaotic meeting of pictures, this technology will improve year after year to help us solve the copyright problem once and for all. Generation Z in Russia and other countries needs an updated legal system, because most information they process are concentrated on the network. Perhaps soon to protect intellectual property or purchase of works of art will not need a lot of documents. Everything will be stored in a magic box called “blockchain”.