A. J. M. OlIVEIRA, Raimundo Corrêa de Oliveira, Vanessa Coelho da Silva, Ricardo da Silva Barboza
The increasing digitization of creative assets poses significant challenges to the protection of intellectual property. In this context, blockchain and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) technologies emerge as promising solutions to ensure the authenticity, traceability, and monetization of digital assets. This study aims to explore the landscape of technological innovation at this intersection through a systematic search in patent databases. The methodology consisted of a search on the Orbit Intelligence database, followed by a rigorous dual validation process that combined manual screening and analysis by Artificial Intelligence (DeepSeek), resulting in a final portfolio of 119 patent families. The results reveal a sharp increase in the number of filings from 2018 onwards, with a peak in 2022, and a strong geographical concentration in China. The analysis of technological domains indicates that innovations are focused on "IT methods for management" and "Digital communication," highlighting the use of the technology as a governance infrastructure. The qualitative analysis of selected patents demonstrates the sophistication of the solutions, which address issues ranging from registration efficiency to rights management for AI-generated content. It is concluded that the field is rapidly maturing, moving beyond proof-of-concept to develop specialized solutions that address complex challenges in the intellectual property ecosystem, thereby redefining protection paradigms in the digital economy.
How may digital platforms be redesigned to better serve the interests of the artists whose creative work gives them value? An artist- and user-owned streaming platform is proposed that would decentralize control and redistribute revenue from corporations to creators. Using Web3 infrastructure, the model enables direct artist payment through blockchain-based transactions that scale based on user consumption, minimizing fees and ensuring transparency. The design also emphasizes community governance and localized music discovery to encourage the regrowth of music culture. By reducing reliance on profit-driven intermediaries, the system aims to create a sustainable environment where independent artists can thrive. Spotify exemplifies how a platform’s designed-in incentives can perpetuate exploitation. The social construction of technology framework suggests that Spotify’s ownership model, pro- rata payment system, and algorithmic design prioritize shareholder value over fairness. Spotify’s supposed mission to “unlock the potential of human creativity” is undermined by its own architecture, which locks artists into dependency. Together, these projects show that achieving fairness in a digital music economy requires not only reforming compensation models but rethinking the infrastructures that define creative labor itself.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have transformed digital ownership, offering unique representations of assets such as art, collectibles, and virtual property. However, pricing NFTs remains a complex and underexplored issue. This study addresses two core questions: what determines NFT prices? And how are prices set in NFT markets? We conduct a comprehensive literature review and market analysis to identify both endogenous and exogenous price determinants. Trait rarity emerges as the most influential intrinsic factor, while cryptocurrency value stands out as a major external influence, albeit with ambiguous effects. Other factors include visual aesthetics, scarcity, utility in games, social media engagement, and broader market sentiment. As to pricing mechanisms, aside from fixed pricing (which is accepted in all marketplaces), NFT marketplaces primarily utilise auctions for art pieces and collectibles— especially English and Dutch formats—which are effective at capturing the buyer’s willingness-to-pay.
The integration of smart contracts within blockchain technology represents atransformative approach to intellectual property rights (IPR) management, fundamentally altering traditional copyright enforcement mechanisms. This article demonstrates how distributed computer networks combined with automated regulatory devices provide superior alternatives to conventional IPR handling methods. Smart contracts reduce the need for arbitration through automated execution of predetermined terms and coding protocols. The implementation of blockchain-based smart contract systems enhances proprietary rights management, which can be particularly relevant for the BRICS nations currently facing evolving digital governance challenges. Research indicates that automated proprietary system networks are progressively superseding traditional IPR management approaches. The development of automated governance systems, coupled with decentralized IPR frameworks, presents both opportunities and regulatory challenges for the BRICS countries. Embedded payment mechanisms within smart contracts ensure automatic royalty distribution when copyrighted content is accessed, eliminating manual processing burdens and associated costs for creators. The implementation of smart contracts also enhances agreement integrity and reduces plagiarism risks through the use of immutable blockchain records. This study examines how organizations can establish enhanced trustworthiness and optimize digital business processes through blockchain-based copyright management. Advanced analytical tools accelerate the understanding of both the benefits and limitations within current copyright frameworks. Users are able to seamlessly access blockchain systems, creating multiple account types as required. Every blockchain entry provides transparent records of content usage and account activities. The digital system prevents misrepresentation by maintaining visible platform activities that are accessible to all stakeholders, ensuring comprehensive transparency of development and execution history for all agreement participants.
A presente dissertação propõe o desenvolvimento de uma plataforma designada SoundSlice, que visa automatizar a gestão de direitos de autor em conteúdos musicais reutilizados e na criação de mixes, através da integração de tecnologias blockchain e contratos inteligentes. O sistema permite o registo de obras originais, reutilizações parciais, a combinação de múltiplas faixas em novas composições (mixes) e a atribuição automática de compensações aos titulares de direitos, assegurando transparência e rastreabilidade em todo o processo. A solução combina uma infraestrutura centralizada, suportada por uma base de dados MongoDB e armazenamento de ficheiros GridFS, com uma camada descentralizada baseada em Ethereum, responsável pela execução dos contratos inteligentes que formalizam a partilha de royalties. A nível prático, foi implementado um frontend web que permite o upload, análise, reutilização e criação de mixes musicais, bem como um backend Node.js que gere a lógica de negócio e a comunicação com a blockchain. O desenvolvimento da plataforma baseou-se nos conceitos teóricos e modelos de integração propostos pelos padrões Smart Contracts for Media (SC4M) e Interactive Music Application Format (IMAF), os quais orientaram a estruturação de metadados, a modelação de contratos e o desenho da arquitetura da plataforma. Por fim, foram conduzidos testes funcionais, de desempenho e de usabilidade que demonstraram o correto funcionamento da plataforma, a eficiência na execução de transações e a aceitação positiva por parte dos utilizadores, validando a viabilidade e o contributo da abordagem proposta.
Mansi Gawade, Mayuri Hande, Vishakha Kshirsagar, Prof. S. Y. Mandlik
In This paper examines how blockchain technology and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) can benefit the business landscape. NFTs are unique digital assets that represent real-world items and can be traded online using crypto currencies. Unlike fungible tokens, each NFT has a distinct digital signature, making them non- interchangeable. This system empowers artists and content creators to receive payment for their work without the need for traditional galleries. Moreover, NFTs can include a royalty feature, allowing creators to earn a percentage each time their NFT is sold again. Although still a relatively new concept, blockchain has the potential to transform the art and content creation industries by enabling the minting and trading of NFTs. The paper proposes that NFT marketplaces could serve as a central hub for various applications of NFTs.
This chapter offers historical, contemporary, and future insights into the workings of the evolving global music industry. Scott Cohen, a seasoned entrepreneur and major-label strategist, shares firsthand perspectives on the challenges that labels encounter, how technology has consistently reshaped the business, and what may be on the horizon. Drawing on historical parallels, Cohen examines how each decade’s “new” disruptive format—from FM radio to MP3—provoked significant resistance within the industry until widespread consumer adoption necessitated transformation. By analysing current developments in AI, generative music, and large-scale data analytics through this perspective, Cohen emphasises that the music industry’s resilience has often stemmed from a willingness to embrace innovation rather than resist it. He highlights important misconceptions surrounding streaming services and emphasises music’s broader social and economic advantages, referencing research by Shain Shapiro of Sound Diplomacy on how music contributes to urban development, employment, and cultural identity beyond its direct revenue. This relates to non-fungible tokens, blockchain, and emerging DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation) models. According to Cohen, these technologies can significantly enhance how creators license their work, track royalties in real-time, and transition from centralised gatekeepers to more collaborative, transparent relationships. In closing, Cohen reaffirms that significant labels will continue to evolve and maintain strong positions but must adopt a longer-term, adaptive mindset. The music industry, he argues, has shown time and again that while short-term protective strategies are common, lasting success stems from embracing new tools—be they streaming services, generative AI, or DAO-based platforms—and recalibrating them to uphold both cultural and economic value for all stakeholders.
This study examines the economic, legal, and institutional structures of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as emerging mechanisms of digital value creation in the global art and media sector. Correspondingly, the aim was to analyze the functional logic of these blockchain-based forms of exploitation and to determine their role in the ongoing knowledge economization of cultural production. Utilizing a qualitative-exploratory multiple-case design, this study meticulously analyzed exemplary use cases from the art, music, and creative industries. Notable examples include ArtTrade.io, Royal.io, and the Kool Savas NFT drop, all of which were scrutinized through systematic document analysis and a PRISMA-based literature evaluation. However, to enhance analytical rigor and support theoretical triangulation, an additional institutional comparison set has been introduced. This set includes significant large-scale distributed ledger technology initiatives such as BLOCKBASTER (collaboration between Deutsche Börse and Deutsche Bundesbank), BIS Helvetia Phase II, Collateral Management Benefit from DLT, and Delivery versus Payment (DvP) utilizing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The projects in question effectively contextualize NFT-based market structures within the wider landscape of digital financial infrastructures, underscoring the convergence of cultural, technological, and regulatory frameworks surrounding tokenization. As the results indicate, NFTs currently function primarily as tokenized representations that do not transfer copyright or property rights. They point out a structural paradox: blockchain promises to decentralize technology, but governance, pricing, and monetization are still centralized. From an economic perspective, hybrid revenue models consisting of primary sales and secondary royalty mechanisms dominate, utilizing attention, exclusivity, and scarcity as core resources. However, NFTs thus appear as socio-technical infrastructures that redefine the interface between technology, market, and culture. As a contribution to the study of the global dynamics of digital creative economies, it highlights that NFTs represent less of a disruption of existing structures and more of an algorithmic reorganization of them. They thus mark the transition to a tokenized knowledge economy in which creativity, data, and code become convergent factors of production in a new economic era.
Muhammad Ilman Abidin, Ahmad M. Ramli, Laina Rafianti
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have emerged as a transformative component of Indonesia’s digital economy, enabling new forms of value creation in art, culture and finance. However, the current regulatory framework remains fragmented, with overlapping responsibilities across financial, intellectual property, trade and digital communications authorities. This research adopts a combined normative juridical analysis (de lege lata) and institutional impact assessment (de lege ferenda), supported by comparative study of global regulatory approaches. The findings demonstrate that existing Indonesian regulations do not sufficiently address the unique characteristics of NFTs, particularly their hybrid nature as digital property, investment assets and instruments of electronic commerce. Additional challenges arise from cross-border transactions, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and the absence of clear enforcement mechanisms. To overcome these gaps, the study proposes a phased regulatory roadmap: in the short term, a joint decree among relevant ministries and agencies; in the medium term, a dedicated coordination desk under a coordinating ministry; and in the long term, the establishment of a specialized NFT authority. This staged approach balances flexibility with institutional strength, providing legal certainty, investor and creator protection, and alignment with international best practices. Ultimately, Indonesia can leverage NFT governance not only as a domestic legal innovation but also as a strategic opportunity to position itself as a regional hub for digital asset regulation in Southeast Asia.
S. Parvathi, I Umamaheshwar Rao, Kummari Venkatesh, Yacharam Uma · 6 authors
Information is crucial in every area of activity in the contemporary digital era. Safe processing and storage of data are required, especially for software handling sensitive information. Because electronic data can be manipulated, it must be protected from unauthorized alterations. Organizations are always exposed to cyberattacks where malicious actors attempt to alter crucial information. Because preservation of the digital evidence as original and its source is still very important in an investigation, such an event is very alarming. Because every data breach case has a likely impact on the legal process, evidence preservation and maintaining watch at every point of existence becomes very vital. The custody of evidence relies on reports passing through several middlemen, i.e., pathology labs, physicians, and police. One healthy method of obtaining security, immutability, and transparency in the process is with the help of blockchain technology. Blockchain makes the transfer of evidence possible and traceable securely without relying on a single central entity by decentralizing data management. In this paper, we suggest an Ethereum blockchain-based system for evidence management with the help of Ethereum. Through use of IPFS in decentralized storage, the system optimizes security through secure storage of evidence and reports with simplicity of access. Additionally, interoperability between agencies without sacrificing security levels guarantees smooth transmission of data. The proposed solution effectively protects against tampering and guarantees evidence as credible in the course of the investigation process due to the high integrity, traceability, and immutability capabilities of blockchain.
In the digital era, managing royalties for creative works remains a major challenge. Existing systems are often outdated and lack the transparency and efficiency required to meet the growing demands of digital content distribution. This paper presents BlockRoyalty, an application based on blockchain and smart contract technologies, designed to modernize royalty management for digital books. The system automates the registration of authors, publishers and buyers. It manages book publication, applies dynamic pricing based on sales trends and ensures real-time royalty distribution. All transactions are securely and recorded in a verifiable manner on the blockchain, fostering trust among stakeholders.
La reciente sentencia dictada por el Juzgado de lo Mercantil de Barcelona en enero de 2024 ha supuesto el primer pronunciamiento de un tribunal español sobre una cuestión tan controvertida como los non-fungible tokens (conocidos comúnmente como NFTs) y su relación con los derechos de autor. Este trabajo busca realizar un análisis sobre las características esenciales de los NFTs y la posible afectación de las obras de propiedad intelectual que en muchas ocasiones estos activos llevan vinculadas. Para ello, se combina una exposición teórica desde el punto de vista doctrinal español e internacional de los elementos definitorios que componen un NFT, con una aproximación práctica comparada a través de la reciente casuística jurisdiccional sobre la cuestión. Con ello, el trabajo busca dar una visión actualizada de la problemática y aportar posibles vías de solución a una cuestión reciente que todavía permanece abierta desde el punto de vista del derecho de autor.
Harshvardhan Dixit, Paras Jain, Mukul Aggarwal, Divyanshu Shukla
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets stored digitally that define digital creative works or intellectual assets, such as the “soundtrack,” “digital artworks,” “games,” “animated gifs,” and “short video clips.” Fungible means to mention that an asset's units are all the same, interchangeable, and dividable.NFT marketplaces are online platforms that have the capability of transforming global interaction and ownership. Although there have been challenges, relentless innovation and collaboration have the potential to bring NFTs to full fruition. By engaging in regulatory, security, scalability, and valuation issues, the industry has the ability to facilitate and sustain mass NFT market use. The study concentrated on identifying several use cases for NFTs and analyzing their potential for creators in the marketplace. The purpose of this paper is to provide a foundational understanding of NFTs and their market applications. The current global market capitalization of NFTs is $60 billion, which is approaching the $100 billion global market capitalization of art.
O.O.O. Law firm, Upper Marlboro, USA, Oluwafunmibi Grace Ajakaye, Adeyinka Lawal, Independent Researcher, Texas, USA;
The emergence of blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has fundamentally transformed the digital landscape, creating unprecedented challenges for intellectual property protection and copyright enforcement across transatlantic jurisdictions. This comprehensive study examines the evolving regulatory frameworks governing digital assets, blockchain-based intellectual property rights, and copyright infringement in the context of NFTs within both European Union and United States legal systems. The research investigates how traditional intellectual property laws are being adapted to address the unique characteristics of blockchain technology, including immutability, decentralization, and cross-border transactions that often transcend conventional jurisdictional boundaries. The study employs a comparative legal analysis methodology, examining recent legislative developments, judicial precedents, and regulatory guidance from key transatlantic jurisdictions including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the European Union as a collective entity. Through systematic analysis of case law, regulatory frameworks, and emerging legal doctrines, this research identifies critical gaps in current legal protections and proposes innovative solutions for harmonizing intellectual property enforcement in the digital age. The analysis reveals significant disparities between European and American approaches to blockchain governance, with European jurisdictions typically favoring more prescriptive regulatory frameworks while American systems rely heavily on existing intellectual property doctrines adapted for digital contexts.
Introduction: Digital content, including images and videos, is increasingly ruling the online world, and so multimedia services form a part of this modern life. However, the digital resources face significant problems, especially regarding copyright infringement. In such an instance, any modification without authority infringes intellectual property rights. Methods: Based on Inter Planetary File System (IPFS) and blockchain technology, a decentralized and distributed framework has been proposed in this study for dealing with insecurity over digital assets and openness of multimedia resources. In this respect, secure, transparent, and immutable transactions in regard to the transfer and ownership of creative works have been facilitated by the use of such a framework. Results: This paper proposes novel decentralized and Blockchain enabled framework to address the problem of video copyright protection by employing solidity based smart contract in a Ethereum network, that allows the content creators to register their videos. The designed smart contract performs copyright checks and release copyright disputes by generating and comparing perceptual hash's (Phash) for original video and modified video. Discussion: Phash techniques play a crucial role in multimedia content analysis, particularly in verifying the integrity and similarity of the video data under various transformations. Additionally, the framework generates Inter Planetary File System (IPFS) main values that signifies the ownership of the video content. Then it compars the phash values, IPFS and similarly score in public Blockchain environment i.e. Ethereum. The framework performance was measured by simulating the contracts of the Application Binary Interface (ABI), JSON file in the Hyperledger Caliper environment. This result shows the performance in the form of video registration, the measured latency was 5.02 seconds with a throughput of 409.87 seconds. For video verification the latency was 4.57 seconds with a throughput of 484.23 seconds.
This chapter delves into the transformative world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and how they redefine digital ownership. It begins by clarifying the concept of non-fungibility – explaining how NFTs represent unique, scarce digital assets that cannot be interchanged like traditional currencies. The chapter traces the evolution of NFTs from early digital collectibles to groundbreaking art sales and diverse applications across industries such as gaming, music, fashion, and real estate. It examines real-world examples, demonstrating how NFTs empower creators with new revenue streams through verifiable ownership and built-in royalty mechanisms. Additionally, the chapter discusses the challenges of market volatility, environmental impact, and regulatory uncertainty, while offering practical guidance for creators, collectors, and investors looking to navigate this dynamic ecosystem.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) offer a promising mechanism to protect Australian and Indigenous artists' copyright. They represent and transfer the value of artwork in digital form. Before adopting NFTs to protect Australian artwork, we in this paper investigate them empericially. We focus on examining the details of NFT structure. We start from the underlying structure of NFTs to show how they represent copyright for both artists and production owners, as well as how they aim to safeguard or secure the value of digital artworks. We then involve data collection from various types of sources with different storage methods, including on-chain, centralized, and decentralized systems. Based on both metadata and artwork content, we present our analysis and discussion on the following key issues: copyright, security and artist identification. The final results of the evaluation, unfortnately, show that the NFT is NOT ready to protect Australian and Indigenous artists' copyright.
The growing importance of the metaverse in recent years has led to its evolution into a global hub for showcasing creative digital content by brands and online users alike. Such content often results from the digitization of real-world trade mark or copyright subject matter, which is then minted into a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) or else, in metaverse-compatible format. Two court rulings from the past few years, Hermès v. Rothschild in the US and Vegap v. Mango in Spain, deal with complex intellectual property (IP) considerations in light of the digitization and use of IP content in the metaverse by artists. Taking these two cases as a point of reference, this paper examines the notion of ‘use’ through the lens of European trade mark and copyright law. First, it explores instances whether the metaverse ‘uses’ of digitized IP content in question would satisfy the legal tests for infringement under the EU law regime. Second, it investigates whether certain metaverse ‘uses’ may be considered fair, or permissible, on the given facts and to what extent a balance can be achieved between the rights of IP proprietors and freedom of artistic expression.
As in many areas of talent and creativity, the field of musical talent and creativity has also entered into new debates with recent technological developments. In this study, I aimed to examine the transformative effects of blockchain technology and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) on copyright management and the creation of “value” in musical creativity (within the music industry). This research comprehensively analyzes the structural inadequacies of traditional copyright systems and the transformative potential of blockchain-based solutions. The research model is based on a methodological synthesis of case studies and theoretical paradigms. The findings demonstrate that blockchain’s decentralized architecture and the unique nature of NFTs provide artists with greater autonomy over their intellectual property; smart contracts automate royalty payments, democratize financial flows, and restructure the creator-audience relationship by eliminating intermediaries. Case studies such as the electronic musician RAC and the decentralized platform Audius concretely show how this technological integration reshapes artistic production and distribution mechanisms. However, the existing legal frameworks lag behind technological innovation. There are significant challenges to be addressed, such as inconsistencies between national and international copyright laws and uncertainties regarding the legal status of NFTs. Blockchain and NFTs have the potential to transform the ontological structure of the music industry by offering creative control, transparent copyright management, direct fan engagement, and alternative income streams for artists. These technologies also carry the potential to evolve the music sector toward a more transparent, fair, and artist-centered model. Therefore, all stakeholders in the industry may need to adopt this technological transformation strategically. Nevertheless, the ecological impacts of blockchain-based copyright systems, including energy consumption and digital carbon footprint, must also be discussed from a critical sustainability perspective. In evaluating the value of musical talent and creativity, it is now essential for disciplines such as musicology, technology studies, economics, and law to work together and adopt a holistic approach to the evolving dynamics of the digital art economy. In this context, blockchain applications in the music industry are interpreted through the cultural, socioeconomic, and epistemological dimensions of the global digital economy — not merely through the lens of technological determinism but also from the perspectives of artistic autonomy and social justice..
Non Fungible Tokens have changed digital ownership and how creators earn money. Between 2021 and 2024, the market value exceeded 40 billion. However, the fast growth of the NFT ecosystem has revealed serious issues in managing intellectual property rights. There is a lot of confusion about the difference between owning an NFT and owning the copyright for the underlying content. This research looks at the gap between traditional copyright laws and blockchain-based transactions. We use a mixed methods approach to analyze this disconnect. We create a new IP rights matrix that clearly shows how copyright law relates to NFT ownership structures. Additionally, we include a business model taxonomy that sorts new commercial applications by their IP risk and sustainability factors. By examining important legal cases, smart contracts, and interviews with stakeholders, we find key problems in enforcing laws across different regions, standardizing licenses, and assessing business opportunities.
The chapter focuses on IP rightsIP rights in esports mainly from the perspective of the European Union (EU) and Korean laws. In addition, it also contains an outlook on two increasingly relevant topics in esports and gaming: non-fungible tokens (NFTsNFTs) and the metaversemetaverse.