Having a private key provides ownership over an account. That ownership allows you to transfer money. It allows you to accept money. This is outside of IP or

Having a private key provides ownership over an account. That ownership allows you to transfer money. It allows you to accept money. This is outside of IP or laws. You can move money without laws. NFT are a differet topic. NFT are a way of having a digital token attached to something that can be used to determine ownership to an account. Do they need to be decentralized? No but it opens up ownership to all not just the approved.