Looking Outwards – 11: Societal Impacts of Digital Art

This week I took a look at the topic of NFTs and the issues of copyright and privacy that come with this new digital phenomenon. NFTs have been around since 2017 but have recently made a huge surge to the mainstream media. Originally, there wasn’t much of an issue to consider because buyers were aware of there wasn’t much utility or usage from these digital creations. However, now that artists are making upwards of millions from these digital images, copyright infringement and abuse of the NFT system have skyrocketed. According to many, the blockchain is actually the perfect tool for resolving copyright ownership and proof of creation; however, blockchain has never been intended for this purpose. The bottom line of NFTs is a way for artists to create some sort of scarcity and uniqueness that physical products intrinsically have. It’s very interesting to see how the space develops and how the system adapts the ever-present issue of copyright and piracy. As of now, the system is not built to sustain this market and it will not be changing anytime soon.

https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2021/03/16/nfts-and-copyright/