Agree
Bobek defines this as the "legal recognition that every person's identity has intrinsic economic value,” granting individuals the right to control the commercial use of their identity. This is largely governed by state law in the US.
What is the Right of Publicity?
Transactions are not entirely anonymous. We can still use existing legal tools like John Doe lawsuits and subpoenas combined with blockchain forensics to identify them effectively.
What is the Traceability of Infringers?
Bobek suggests implementing and strongly enforcing these NFT-specific contracts on both primary and secondary marketplaces to minimise the risk of infringement and litigation ex-ante.
What are Terms of Service?
Bobek argues this necessitates novel remedies.Once an infringing NFT is minted, it exists permanently, making traditional legal remedies like injunctions difficult to enforce.
What is Immutability?
Some alternative solutions remain fully available and the immutability of blockchain transactions can even aid in calculating damages. Courts could grant damages to plaintiffs or impose injunctions to prevent further sales as alternatives to more drastic outcomes.
What are Monetary Remedies?
This fiery solution to infringing NFTs would 'involve sending an NFT to “an eater address,” which “cannot be used for transactions” and is, thus, “virtually equivalent to deletion.”'
What is Burning?
Smart contracts can generate ongoing unauthorized profits. NFTs can be easily traded across platforms, potentially circumventing licensing agreements. The applicability of license terms to secondary purchasers who may be unaware of or not agree to the original terms governing the use of the likeness.
What is Transferability?
It is important to note that these practices are already taking place on many platforms such as deviantart to algorithmically filter and identify IP infringements.
What is Content Moderation?
While NFT minting and marketplaces are known for being accessible and easy to enter, Bobek encourages making this change to stop infringing NFTs from being uploaded to their network.
What is Review Before Upload?
Decentralized platforms make takedowns harder. The pseudonymous nature of blockchain transactions can make it difficult to identify and pursue infringers and can make it difficult for rights owners to identify and seek redress from infringers.
What is the Anonymization of Creators?
Mark Conrad's paper suggests that "traditional IP laws – including copyright, trademark, and the right of publicity – apply in a digital context" and can be adapted to NFT scenarios. The Lil Yachty v. Opulous case is an example that these may already suffice.
What are Existing Legal Frameworks?
Despite scholarly concerns about who would require the owner to remove the NFT and the difficulty of identifying creators on the blockchain, Bobek assures that these bodies are best equipped to freeze NFT assets and enforce punishments for infringers.
What are Courts?