Rights in NFTS and the flourishing of NFT marketplaces

Abstract

Abstract As non-fungible tokens (NFTs) become more commonly collected, questions arise as to the rights owned by purchasers of NFTs. Do NFTs fall under the following categories: real or personal properties; securities or commodities; or copyright works? Many scholars have gone into great detail in these respects, but not looked at the NFT marketplaces on which NFTs are purchased. They have argued that rights in NFTs are analogous to rights in property, securities and copyright’s exclusive bundle of rights, among other things. In this article, I go further to examine selected marketplaces OpenSea and Rarible’s user policies and interfaces, to garner insight on the rights NFT purchasers have. I also examine the latest developments, including cases decided on NFTs, as well as practical developments on the marketplaces, including the introduction of selected licences for NFT projects. Thereafter, I conclude on the rights NFT purchasers hold, the relevance of the copyright system and ultimately, what could support the flourishing of NFT marketplaces.