NFTs, IPs, and Creative Commons

If you’re a Youtuber or spend a lot of time-consuming media on it, you must have heard of its copyright strike system…and what a disaster it has been for content creators. There’s a general feeling that even though the ‘Fair Use doctrine is being properly used, copyright infringement laws are being abused. It is a complicated intersection of intellectual property, creative commons, and fair use.

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Intellectual Property (IP)

Copyright laws are meant to protect people’s intellectual property, and it makes sense. Certainly, no one wishes their work to be stolen, and once your IP is copyrighted, you can ensure that the use of your work meets your consent. How does a creator give consent for their IP’s use?

Creative Commons (CC0)

Creative commons allows creators in all domains to put their copyrighted work in the public domain to be used by others freely. CC0 allows several options to creators from which they can choose the nature of licensing for their work.

With the coming of 95-year-long copyright protection for Mickey Mouse in his first appearance in the short animated film ‘Steamboat Willie’. Given how protective Disney is of its IP, this news has the internet community buzzing about Mickey Mouse and the possibility of using this rendition in their work due to CC0.

NFTs (Non-fungible tokens)

What does this have to do with NFTs, you make ask? As a new form of digital art, the NFT community has also been known to use copyrighted material, such as Marvel or DCEU superheroes, to create art that they can buy, sell, trade, etc. They are just as excited to use the coveted Mickey Mouse cartoon when the copyright expires.

No Mickey for Me?

Creative commons is an excellent example of allowing people to work on established media. However, no matter on which platform you create your work, be it YouTube or NFT, it is a complicated process requiring lawyers to ensure you are not found financially liable for using any copyrighted IP.

This is not a warning to deter you from creating your art but a reminder to do your research before you start and use the help of professionals who are aware of copyright laws in your country.

Have any questions about NFTs, IPs, and Creative Commons? Let us know in the comments below or DM us on Instagram!