4 ms·

Here's my take on a short answer: It satisfies the desire of vanity for the consumers. When you purchase an NFT it means people will acknowledge (backed by th

Here's my take on a short answer: It satisfies the desire of vanity for the consumers. When you purchase an NFT it means people will acknowledge (backed by the blockchain) you're the only person in the world to "own" this particular item. The need to create NFT is to get money from whatever you created, if there's anyone find it interesting and wants to "own" it.

adabaed 5y ago
Isn't more effective to use standard copyright protection?
- bern4444 5y ago
  yes, and I think NFTs and copyright are very similar but anyone can buy an NFT very easily - you just pay for it. To get copyright protection on something you may need to hire a lawyer, file some papers etc. Maybe NFTs are more similar to a combination of letters of authenticity and a deed when you buy a painting or something at auction stating that the thing you have is real and that you are the owner.
  - adabaed 5y ago
    Thank you.
  - brirec 5y ago
    In the majority of countries, and according to the Berne Convention, copyright is granted automatically to an original work upon its creation. If I make a graphic or write a poem (or a computer program), I automatically hold copyright protection. There are indeed exceptions, but I doubt any of those exceptions are going to care about NFTs either.
  - viraptor 5y ago
    Until at least one person tests this in court, it's safer to assume that NFTs don't give you absolutely any legal rights. And if the only thing you have is NFT, the author can sue you for copyright violation.
bootlooped 5y ago
But NFTs can be copied. In which case a third party outside the blockchain must attest to which NFT is original or legitimate. That kills the whole proof of ownership angle, I think. Having an NFT only means you control a digital file asserting that you "own" something else; what is meant by "own" and if the assertion is true is not knowable without off-chain information. I'll give you that it does allow creators to extract value from their work.
- mike741 5y ago
  That 2nd sentence is incorrect. The blockchain is already the 3rd party attesting to the NFT's legitimacy. The purpose of the decentralized blockchain is to remove the need for 3rd party validation. Yes the NFT can be copied, and yes the digital asset that the NFT represents can be copied, BUT the NFT's record in the blockchain can NOT be copied. What is meant by "own" is that the owner's address is tied to the NFT in the blockchain record.
  - viraptor 5y ago
    I'd replace "NFT legitimacy" with "NFT correctness". Unless you met the author and seen them create the NFT, you don't really know if it's legitimate (as in created by the original author) or not. The market being flooded by random fakes and actual authors having to put their higher quality art behind a paywall is a serious problem these days. For real legitimacy of the source, you need either the author or a trusted third party.
  - bootlooped 5y ago
    I think in most cases with NFTs, "own" is being defined at ownership of the off-chain artwork (or other thing). I think people are being sold the idea that they're buying a certificate that proves they own (in some sense of the word) the artwork, but in reality they're being sold a certificate that proves they own the certificate.

adabaed 5y ago

Isn't more effective to use standard copyright protection?

bern4444 5y ago
yes, and I think NFTs and copyright are very similar but anyone can buy an NFT very easily - you just pay for it. To get copyright protection on something you may need to hire a lawyer, file some papers etc. Maybe NFTs are more similar to a combination of letters of authenticity and a deed when you buy a painting or something at auction stating that the thing you have is real and that you are the owner.
- adabaed 5y ago
  Thank you.
- brirec 5y ago
  In the majority of countries, and according to the Berne Convention, copyright is granted automatically to an original work upon its creation. If I make a graphic or write a poem (or a computer program), I automatically hold copyright protection. There are indeed exceptions, but I doubt any of those exceptions are going to care about NFTs either.
- viraptor 5y ago
  Until at least one person tests this in court, it's safer to assume that NFTs don't give you absolutely any legal rights. And if the only thing you have is NFT, the author can sue you for copyright violation.

bootlooped 5y ago

But NFTs can be copied. In which case a third party outside the blockchain must attest to which NFT is original or legitimate. That kills the whole proof of ownership angle, I think. Having an NFT only means you control a digital file asserting that you "own" something else; what is meant by "own" and if the assertion is true is not knowable without off-chain information. I'll give you that it does allow creators to extract value from their work.

mike741 5y ago
That 2nd sentence is incorrect. The blockchain is already the 3rd party attesting to the NFT's legitimacy. The purpose of the decentralized blockchain is to remove the need for 3rd party validation. Yes the NFT can be copied, and yes the digital asset that the NFT represents can be copied, BUT the NFT's record in the blockchain can NOT be copied. What is meant by "own" is that the owner's address is tied to the NFT in the blockchain record.
- viraptor 5y ago
  I'd replace "NFT legitimacy" with "NFT correctness". Unless you met the author and seen them create the NFT, you don't really know if it's legitimate (as in created by the original author) or not. The market being flooded by random fakes and actual authors having to put their higher quality art behind a paywall is a serious problem these days. For real legitimacy of the source, you need either the author or a trusted third party.
- bootlooped 5y ago
  I think in most cases with NFTs, "own" is being defined at ownership of the off-chain artwork (or other thing). I think people are being sold the idea that they're buying a certificate that proves they own (in some sense of the word) the artwork, but in reality they're being sold a certificate that proves they own the certificate.