$7.5 Million NFT Collection Accused of Using Art Without Permission Threatened by Legal Action
Non-fungible token assets (NFT) have been able to make billions of dollars this year. The Collins English Dictionary Word of the the Year was the title of ‘NFT’. NFT markets like Opensea, Atomicwax, and Rarible have all seen $587million in sales in the past seven days. Rarible has also seen more than $3 million in NFT sales weekly.
However, there have been some issues with the NFT industry in recent years. These include permanence and censorship. insider trading is a problem. Artists are now upset that NFTs were issued without their consent. Financial Times (FT), reports that artwork by Anish Kaplan and David Bailey was issued as non-fungible tokens, without their consent.
The report states that Star Wars Stormtrooper helmets made by Bailey, Kapoor and others were taken and sold as NFT without permission. The NFT collection was sold for approximately 1600 ETH, which is more than $7.5million at the time of writing.
Artists may seek legal action – Legal Tussles rise over intellectual property and NFTs
The FT report states that the collection called Art Wars contains approximately 1,138 images. Kapoor’s art was being resold 1000 Eth while Bailey’s work was available for resale at 120 Eth. Cristina Criddle, FT, stated that the NFTs have been removed from Opensea.
Criddle’s report reveals that ‘About twelve artists are considering legal actions against the project, based on legal representatives.’ Criddle explains how Helen Downie – an artist who uses the name “Unskilled Worker” – may file legal action after she noticed two helmets being sold as NFTs.
Similar issues to those facing Bailey and Kapoor have been making headlines in recent years in the NFT industry. Freelancers have been warned by legal representatives of both Marvel and DC Comics to not use copyrighted material or characters for NFTs.
Quentin Tarantino is involved in a legal dispute with Miramax about ‘Pulp Fiction’ NFTs. Damon Dash and Roc-A-Fella Records engaged in a legal dispute over NFTs related to Jay-Z’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt.’