UK Committee Urges Copyright Protection for NFT Creators

A UK parliamentary committee has urged the government to implement protections for artists against NFT-related copyright infringements, highlighting concerns over sports groups' digital ventures.

Recommendations for Safeguarding Creators

The committee highlighted the prominent concern of artists' intellectual property rights being compromised due to the ease and speed at which NFTs can be minted, reports Cointelegraph. In contrast, the enforcement process for artists looking to protect their rights is considerably slower.

Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage expressed her apprehension, stating, "Artists are at risk of seeing the fruits of their hard work pinched and promoted without permission while fraudulent and misleading adverts add an extra layer of jeopardy for investors involved in what is already an inherently risky business," according to Investing.com.

The report accompanying the committee's press release suggests that the government collaborate with NFT marketplaces to combat infringements by implementing a code of conduct. This proposed code of conduct would protect creators, consumers, and sellers by preventing the sale of infringing and potentially fraudulent material on these platforms.

Potential Harms of Sporting Cryptocurrencies

Additionally, the committee cautioned against the potential hazards of sporting leagues or teams creating cryptocurrencies to offer to fans. They further recommended that any measurement of fan engagement exclude such tokens.

Several U.K.-based football organizations, including Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, have recently released "fan tokens" to their followers and club members. However, the committee argued that the promised exclusive rights and benefits often failed to materialize.

The report expressed concerns about clubs presenting fan tokens as a form of fan engagement in the future despite the volatile nature of these assets and existing reservations among fan groups. The committee stressed that the price volatility of these tokens could potentially result in financial harm to fans unaware of their inherent risks.

"Clubs are promoting volatile crypto asset schemes to extract additional money from loyal supporters, often with promises of privileges and perks that fails to materialize, according to the committee. It concluded that "any measurement of fan engagement in sports, including in the forthcoming regulation of football, should explicitly exclude the use of fan tokens."

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