Perspectives on NFTs from the EU and UK

Abstract

I want to start with a bit of a disclaimer:  I have actually minted, bought, and sold a few NFTs.  But I’ve managed only to lose money.  I think I am not alone.  There is a report in Nature says that that some 75% of all NFT sales have been for under fifteen dollars.

I could spend hours talking about the common pitfalls and issues faced by EU and UK participants in the NFT market.  There are many different topics up for discussion, but I have selected just a few that I find might be different from an international perspective when compared with the experience in the United States.  You may have noticed that I’m separating the UK and European perspectives.  (Thank you, Brexit.)  There has already been much talk about what you are getting when you purchase an NFT:  The data is a smart contract.  It is code.  In other words, the NFT is not the artwork, it is just the token that represents the work.  But we have not really explored how copyright law impacts the NFT market.  So, the first question I want to explore is the rights question.