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My main basic questions remain after reading about these NFT sales. Why can't someone just buy all rights to this video the same way a company can buy the righ

My main basic questions remain after reading about these NFT sales. Why can't someone just buy all rights to this video the same way a company can buy the rights to a film? What does the blockchain do that a couple lawyers and some paperwork couldn't? Why a blockchain-based digital "certificate" instead of just a certificate? Does my birth certificate or marriage certificate or college diploma need an upgrade to an NFT, too?

delecti 5y ago
An NFT is essentially a trading card for the thing that it's attached to. Just like you don't "own" Babe Ruth in any meaningful sense by owning a Babe Ruth trading card, you don't "own" the artwork associated with an NFT by owning the NFT itself. The exception is if there's some arrangement external to the NFT that links ownership of the NFT to ownership of the thing.
- hoppyhoppy2 5y ago
  Could I sell an NFT for my birth certificate to raise some cash, while my original birth certificate remains at the state's Vital Records Department under ownership of the state? If so, what exactly would the buyer be buying? Just a virtual trading card and a promise that I won't sell my "birth-certificate NFT" trading card to anyone else?
  - delecti 5y ago
    > Could I sell an NFT for my birth certificate to raise some cash, while my original birth certificate remains at the state's Vital Records Department under ownership of the state? Yes, and it's basically equivalent to writing the words "My Birth Certificate" on a piece of paper and selling that piece of paper. It holds no weight whatsoever. > If so, what exactly would the buyer be buying? Nothing. > Just a promise that I won't sell my "birth-certificate NFT" to anyone else? Not even that, unless you also did that. You can make multiple NFTs from the same thing. Just like nothing would prevent you from writing "My Birth Certificate" on a second piece of paper and selling that too, unless there was some external agreement that you wouldn't.
  - pionar 5y ago
    A) yes B) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  - t0mbstone 5y ago
    BRB selling myself into slavery via NFT
- willchis 5y ago
  And the horrifying thing is that they are selling NFTs for NBA trading cards (GIFs). So people now own a trading card of a trading card of a real person dunking :(
  - delecti 5y ago
    That actually seems less horrifying to me. That feels like those NFTs at least acknowledge that they're basically trading cards. It's not an "NFT of a trading card" it's "an NFT which stopped pretending it wasn't just a trading card."`
floren 5y ago
Key point: buying the NFT does not transfer rights to you. You're just buying the NFT. The original creator retains the rights to the video.
- nickthemagicman 5y ago
  What! HA I understand it even less now.
  - hnick 5y ago
    Sounds to me like you understand it perfectly!
  - tolbish 5y ago
    It's a similar concept to a trading card, in which you don't own nor have any relation to the actual asset depicted on the card. If trading cards were not a thing, you would think the purchase of a Hank Aaron card worth $10,000 would be ridiculous.
  - axiosgunnar 5y ago
    Basically it‘s just one huge meme. Like an autograph has no „intrinsic“ value, people still want them and they can be traded for money as well.
    - selfhoster11 5y ago
      An autograph = a personal "senpai noticed me" item, which to fans does have some value.
      - axiosgunnar 5y ago
        Did we just come up with a trillion dollar idea - Personalized NFTs? :)
sgron 5y ago
Also, from the terms <https://www.charliebitme.com/#/auction-terms https://www.charliebitme.com/#/auction-terms>, the buyer doesn't own the media itself, just the NFT... > “DCF” means the Davies-Carr Family. > You acknowledge and agree that the DCF (or, as applicable, its licensors) retains ownership of all legal right, title and interest in and to the Media and all intellectual property rights therein. The rights that you have in and to the NFT are as described in this License. The DCF reserves all rights in and to the Media not expressly granted to you in this License.
jayd16 5y ago
Its better to think of NFTs as limited edition merch instead of ownership of the work.
- tom_mellior 5y ago
  Ha! This is an excellent take. Maybe minus the "limited edition" part, since whoever minted the NFT can just mint the same one again. Even if they claimed they wouldn't.
  - oneeyedpigeon 5y ago
    And minus the "merch" bit since you don't actually get anything tangible.
  - ThrustVectoring 5y ago
    It's still limited edition in that there's only one first minting of an NFT, and with the blockchain you can tell whose is which.
  - axiosgunnar 5y ago
    Anybody producing real world „limited edition“ merch could in theory produce it again, so this is no different here. I guess it‘s some form of „trust“ between the issuer and the buyer. Or the 2nd NFT wouldn‘t be as memey anymore and thus not worth as much. (It would probably be worth more the first time in reality, since issuing an NFT twice is not „supposed to happen“, so there would be some novelty to it, and I guess novelty is part of what drives the prices. See also Banksy‘s image that actually increased in value after it got publicly shredded by a built-in mechanism after being auctioned off.)

delecti 5y ago

An NFT is essentially a trading card for the thing that it's attached to. Just like you don't "own" Babe Ruth in any meaningful sense by owning a Babe Ruth trading card, you don't "own" the artwork associated with an NFT by owning the NFT itself. The exception is if there's some arrangement external to the NFT that links ownership of the NFT to ownership of the thing.

hoppyhoppy2 5y ago
Could I sell an NFT for my birth certificate to raise some cash, while my original birth certificate remains at the state's Vital Records Department under ownership of the state? If so, what exactly would the buyer be buying? Just a virtual trading card and a promise that I won't sell my "birth-certificate NFT" trading card to anyone else?
- delecti 5y ago
  > Could I sell an NFT for my birth certificate to raise some cash, while my original birth certificate remains at the state's Vital Records Department under ownership of the state? Yes, and it's basically equivalent to writing the words "My Birth Certificate" on a piece of paper and selling that piece of paper. It holds no weight whatsoever. > If so, what exactly would the buyer be buying? Nothing. > Just a promise that I won't sell my "birth-certificate NFT" to anyone else? Not even that, unless you also did that. You can make multiple NFTs from the same thing. Just like nothing would prevent you from writing "My Birth Certificate" on a second piece of paper and selling that too, unless there was some external agreement that you wouldn't.
- pionar 5y ago
  A) yes B) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- t0mbstone 5y ago
  BRB selling myself into slavery via NFT
willchis 5y ago
And the horrifying thing is that they are selling NFTs for NBA trading cards (GIFs). So people now own a trading card of a trading card of a real person dunking :(
- delecti 5y ago
  That actually seems less horrifying to me. That feels like those NFTs at least acknowledge that they're basically trading cards. It's not an "NFT of a trading card" it's "an NFT which stopped pretending it wasn't just a trading card."`

floren 5y ago

Key point: buying the NFT does not transfer rights to you. You're just buying the NFT. The original creator retains the rights to the video.

nickthemagicman 5y ago
What! HA I understand it even less now.
- hnick 5y ago
  Sounds to me like you understand it perfectly!
- tolbish 5y ago
  It's a similar concept to a trading card, in which you don't own nor have any relation to the actual asset depicted on the card. If trading cards were not a thing, you would think the purchase of a Hank Aaron card worth $10,000 would be ridiculous.
- axiosgunnar 5y ago
  Basically it‘s just one huge meme. Like an autograph has no „intrinsic“ value, people still want them and they can be traded for money as well.
  - selfhoster11 5y ago
    An autograph = a personal "senpai noticed me" item, which to fans does have some value.
    - axiosgunnar 5y ago
      Did we just come up with a trillion dollar idea - Personalized NFTs? :)

sgron 5y ago

Also, from the terms <https://www.charliebitme.com/#/auction-terms https://www.charliebitme.com/#/auction-terms>, the buyer doesn't own the media itself, just the NFT... > “DCF” means the Davies-Carr Family. > You acknowledge and agree that the DCF (or, as applicable, its licensors) retains ownership of all legal right, title and interest in and to the Media and all intellectual property rights therein. The rights that you have in and to the NFT are as described in this License. The DCF reserves all rights in and to the Media not expressly granted to you in this License.

jayd16 5y ago

Its better to think of NFTs as limited edition merch instead of ownership of the work.

tom_mellior 5y ago
Ha! This is an excellent take. Maybe minus the "limited edition" part, since whoever minted the NFT can just mint the same one again. Even if they claimed they wouldn't.
- oneeyedpigeon 5y ago
  And minus the "merch" bit since you don't actually get anything tangible.
- ThrustVectoring 5y ago
  It's still limited edition in that there's only one first minting of an NFT, and with the blockchain you can tell whose is which.
- axiosgunnar 5y ago
  Anybody producing real world „limited edition“ merch could in theory produce it again, so this is no different here. I guess it‘s some form of „trust“ between the issuer and the buyer. Or the 2nd NFT wouldn‘t be as memey anymore and thus not worth as much. (It would probably be worth more the first time in reality, since issuing an NFT twice is not „supposed to happen“, so there would be some novelty to it, and I guess novelty is part of what drives the prices. See also Banksy‘s image that actually increased in value after it got publicly shredded by a built-in mechanism after being auctioned off.)