In connection with a joint study on intellectual property rights (IP) issues and non-fungible tokens (NFT), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the United States Copyright Office (USCO) published a notice in the Federal Register last week seeking public comments on 13 separate questions – each related to a different aspect of IP use in NFTs. The comment period ends on January 9, 2023. In addition, in mid-January 2023, the USPTO and USCO will hold three public roundtables focusing on IP issues in the NFT area. Registration for these events closes on 21 December 2022.
In related news, an American toy manufacturing and entertainment company has reportedly launched its own NFT marketplace. According to reports, the marketplace, built on the Flow blockchain, will allow users to buy NFTs without the use of cryptocurrency and will support peer-to-peer trading. The first line of digital collectibles – based on one of the company’s most recognizable properties – is reportedly set to drop in mid-December.
In other market news, OpenSea has reportedly released an “on-chain enforcement tool” to help NFT creators enforce royalty payments on secondary sales of their work. According to reports, the tool will allow NFT artists to “specify which addresses can make token transfers on their behalf.” This would effectively allow artists to stop the resale of their work on websites that refused to honor royalty fees.
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