NFTs: Usage Rights And Legal Fights

NFTs-or Non-Fungible Tokens-continue to raise new legal questions, particularly involving intellectual property rights and the enforcement of those rights against bad actors.

Take the case of actor and comedian Seth Green. Green was the owner of an NFT titled Bored Ape Yacht Club #8398, which depicts a Bored Ape avatar named Fred Simian. Bored Ape Yacht Club is an NFT collection of 10,000 ape avatars, each having unique visual characteristics, and each valuing thousands (and in some cases millions) of dollars. In an attempt to capitalize on the prominence of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, and to create a new kind of series within the fame surrounding NFTs generally, Green was developing an animated show called White Horse Tavern with Fred as the main character. Then, in May 2022, Green's NFT was hacked, raising a host of legal issues about his ability to generate revenue from an NFT over which he no longer had possession or control.