The creator can do this because, according to UK copyright law, copyright arises automatically when a work is created – as long as it reflects the “author’s own intellectual creation”. Whereas previously it was not possible to sell something like the first ever tweet, or a taco-themed gif, or indeed a piece of art online, now individuals, companies or cultural organisations can do so as long as they are the rightful owner. NFTs allow the owner of a limited work or collection to reach their audience directly. Or NFTs can represent a single work, such as Beeple’s artwork or a series of items, such as the Kings of Leon’s “NFT Yourself” series in which the assets on offer included music albums with unique features and special concert tickets.

These involved her improvising alongside visuals provided by artist Andy Carne. It can reflect a collaborative work, such as the English singer-songwriter Imogen Heap’s series of music NFTs, “Firsts”. It can be computer-generated, which was the basis for the production of 10,000 unique CryptoPunks in 2017. They are each one of a kind, or one of a limited edition.Ĭontent sold as NFTs can be created in many ways. On the other hand, NFTs cannot be exchanged like for like with another. Money is fungible, in the sense that you can buy a commodity worth £10 with any £10 note it doesn’t matter which one you use. In the broader context, this means interchangeable and relates to whether something can be exchanged. Fungible is derived from the Latin verb fungi, meaning to perform. To understand NFTs, it is important to understand what is meant by “fungible”. So what is someone actually getting when they buy an NFT, and what do they truly own from a legal perspective? The new frontier They might think they could display it on a website, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Unlike physical collectables, an NFT owner will not be able to display the asset in their home – except on a screen. Yet whether it is a remarkable piece of digital artwork or a cute digital penguin, NFTs are essentially tradeable jpegs or gifs.

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