The Alarm Is Sounding On NFTs

Thaluikhain

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Currency has the function of being currency. Now crypto sucks at the one thing crypto was meant to do, so I am very curious to see if the concept can bounce back.
It'll be back, maybe not in our lifetimes and maybe not in the same form, but it'll be back.

(People say that sort of thing about fascism and the like, but it applies just as well here, and fascism doesn't nee that quote because it's already strong again)
 

XsjadoBlayde

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While it's not entirely clear how accurate that particular getaway number is, what is clear is there's a monkeypox crypto coin, crypto bros still invested, and it just got swiftly rug-pulled anyway. 👌
 
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Nielas

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THEY FUNGED THE APE!
This story is BS. If the NFTs were really stolen by a hacker then Real World law says that Green still owns any rights to them he previously had. This scenario is straight out of a bad Uncle Scrooge comic (they are notorious for having contracts that have no legal authority) and Green seems to be playing along to perpetuate the fiction that NFT have value in the real world.
 

Cheetodust

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This story is BS. If the NFTs were really stolen by a hacker then Real World law says that Green still owns any rights to them he previously had. This scenario is straight out of a bad Uncle Scrooge comic (they are notorious for having contracts that have no legal authority) and Green seems to be playing along to perpetuate the fiction that NFT have value in the real world.
The problem is if he claims "actually I still own this" and the crypto crowd agrees it completely undermines "code is law".
 

TheMysteriousGX

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Yeah, there is a non-zero chance that the smart contract attached to the NFT automatically switched usage rights as soon as it changed ownership. Because crypto bros are stupid like that
 
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Silvanus

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This story is BS. If the NFTs were really stolen by a hacker then Real World law says that Green still owns any rights to them he previously had. This scenario is straight out of a bad Uncle Scrooge comic (they are notorious for having contracts that have no legal authority) and Green seems to be playing along to perpetuate the fiction that NFT have value in the real world.
Not quite that simple, I'm afraid.

NFTs by default don't confer any copyright ownership at all. The creator retains the copyright. The only exception is if the seller has set out their own terms and conditions regarding transfer of copyright-- and the Bored Ape Yacht Club has done so, stating that whoever holds the token itself also holds the copyright.

The effect of this is that stolen Ape NFTs aren't actually protected by the usual suite of copyright laws that usually apply to art or merchandise.

Edit: And yes, it's all designed to be as open to exploitation and scammery as possible.
 

BrawlMan

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THEY FUNGED THE APE!
Sucks to be Seth Green. Seriously, why are any of these people still trying, or jumping the bandwagon so late? Inafune, GameStop, and some these celebrities, etc. Move the fuck on with your lives and do something useful again, because none of you need the money!
 

Nielas

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Not quite that simple, I'm afraid.

NFTs by default don't confer any copyright ownership at all. The creator retains the copyright. The only exception is if the seller has set out their own terms and conditions regarding transfer of copyright-- and the Bored Ape Yacht Club has done so, stating that whoever holds the token itself also holds the copyright.

The effect of this is that stolen Ape NFTs aren't actually protected by the usual suite of copyright laws that usually apply to art or merchandise.

Edit: And yes, it's all designed to be as open to exploitation and scammery as possible.
I am fairly certain that Green could win any court case that challenged that he still owns the copyright. The initial Bored Ape Yacht Club contract would actually need to include explicit provisions for what happen if the token is stolen. Otherwise a US court would invalidate the illicit transfer of rights based on standard contract law.
 

Nielas

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The problem is if he claims "actually I still own this" and the crypto crowd agrees it completely undermines "code is law".
"Code is law" goes against fundamental elements of modern western contract law which generally requires specific consent for valid transactions to take place. You would need serious legal changes before courts would accept it as enforceable. Green is giving up very basic legal rights in order to support the NFT idealogy.
 

EvilRoy

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I am fairly certain that Green could win any court case that challenged that he still owns the copyright. The initial Bored Ape Yacht Club contract would actually need to include explicit provisions for what happen if the token is stolen. Otherwise a US court would invalidate the illicit transfer of rights based on standard contract law.
Possibly? Copyright law intersects with my work in weird ways and at this stage I truly believe "copyright" means whatever the highest priced lawyer says it does. I want to claim that BoredApe giving Seth Green the copyright as a package with the sale of the NFT is something that would not extend to the next owner unless explicitly agreed upon, but I've been very wrong before.

At any rate, getting the actual string of code back would require finding the thief and then getting the location out of them which is pretty unlikely. Even if Seths lawyer says he retains the copyright, if that is in dispute in any way it could torpedo any potential contract that requires that copyright since a challenge at a later date means months to years of litigation. Challenges to copyright typically happen after the work has been successfully used, and the number and strength of lawsuits increases proportionally with the level of success.

Or, Seth saw the way the wind is blowing for crypto in general and is using this as an easy way to no-fault break his contracts.
 

Silvanus

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I am fairly certain that Green could win any court case that challenged that he still owns the copyright. The initial Bored Ape Yacht Club contract would actually need to include explicit provisions for what happen if the token is stolen. Otherwise a US court would invalidate the illicit transfer of rights based on standard contract law.
Well, you can speculate, but these things have never been tested in court. Contracts usually don't need to include specifications about theft-- its actually pretty rare.
 
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