Intellectual Property and NFT Use in the Metaverse: A Global Approach to Regulation

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital assets that have gained significant attention in recent years as a new way to monetize digital assets such as digital art and collectibles in a virtual reality called Metaverse. Digital art creation starts with an entry in the blockchain ledger called mining; the entry itself is called a token. NFTs are unique as they have unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them and cannot be replicated. They can be traded online with cryptocurrency and encoded with the same software as many cryptos. Because they can increase in value, such as artwork, they are attractive for investments, creating and developing digital art as the set market. Some commentators predict that tokenization will change significantly ‘everyday transaction.’ These assets can be traded across platforms in virtual reality without country-specific domains or territorial connecting factors that usually exist on the internet, which makes the metaverse a ‘borderless virtual world.’ According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an NFT is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership as discussed by the authors (as of a specific digital asset and specific rights relating to it).’