- In Episode 3, I bust one of the biggest myths about buying NFTs–that buying an NFT means you are buying the art or content. That’s a myth.
- Buying an NFT means you are buying a virtual token on blockchain. The token is different from the art or content.
- The buyer’s rights to use the art or content is determined by a Content License.
- The NFT producer or NFT marketplace provides the content license to the buyer during the sale, for example, by providing a link to “Terms and Conditions” governing the sale. Sometimes, the marketplace uses a standard license for all sales on its marketplace (see NBA Top Shots license).
- Analogy: To understand an NFT sale, consider the analogy to a paper card for a book in a library’s card catalog. The card contains information about a specific book on the shelves of the library. Because everything is digital now, let’s say the library sold its paper cards as collectibles. (Who wouldn’t want a paper card from the library?) Buying the paper card does not mean you have purchased the book itself, much less the copyright to the book. The sale is for just the card. Similarly, the sale of an NFT is for just the virtual token. A Content License will determine what uses of the content the buyer can make, such as public displays of the work.
