In response to Blur question, Greg Solano, Yuga Labs/BAYC co-founder, criticizes marketplaces in “a race to the bottom … with less and less of them honoring creator royalties”

“WE FIND IT PROBLEMATIC THAT THERE’S A RACE TO THE BOTTOM between different marketplaces … with less and less of them honoring creator royalties.” – Greg Solano

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CHART on Creator Royalties on NFT platforms: which respect full creator royalties and which don’t (Part I)

[T]he current U.S. copyright system leaves many visual artists at a practical disadvantage in relation to other kinds of authors…. Because most artworks are not produced in copies, the visual artist receives a financial interest in only one work – or at best a few copies of that work. Other creators face no comparable limitation,…

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The Mystery of the Missing DMCA agents for popular NFT marketplaces–whither notice and takedown?

Half of the most popular NFT marketplaces–Blur, Looksrare, and Sudoswap–do not appear to have a designated DMCA agent or procedure to receive copyright notices for alleged infringement listed on their websites. Nor does the Copyright Office database contain a registration for a designated DMCA agent.

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Following OpenSea’s defense of creator royalties, X2Y2 and Blur abandon controversial “Zero Royalties” policies in favor of creator royalties

This is a great development for Web3 during one of the darkest moments in the crypto world. Credit goes to all the artists, creators, and allies who organized a campaign to convince OpenSea not to rollback its respect for creator royalties. Incredible to see a decentralized campaign in action!

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“Zero Royalties” policies on NFT marketplaces pose existential threat to Web3 and creators

Point 1: “Zero royalties” policies have produced a destructive race to the bottom with more money being diverted away from creators to avoid paying them royalties. The following graph shows that the market share of OpenSea (which respects creator royalties) has decreased from above 80 percent to around 50 percent this year. The dramatic shift…

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OpenSea recommits to creator royalties after artists unite to protest “zero royalties” policies

Artists Unite to Protest Efforts to Eliminate Creator Royalties Below I collect some of the impassioned pleas from artists! Let’s go, creators! All Seeing Seneca, one of artists who created Bored Apes Betty, co-creator of Deadfellaz Snoop Dogg and FEWOCiOUS iwwon, creator of CryptoMories Bobby Hundreds

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How is insider trading of NFTs a felony if it doesn’t involve a 10b-5 securities violation? The wire fraud theory in U.S. v. Nate Chastain, former OpenSea employee.

Yesterday, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY Damian Williams announced an indictment against Nathaniel Chastain who allegedly traded at least 45 NFTs while working at OpenSea based on confidential business information that OpenSea would feature the NFTs on its website (thereby attracting greater demand). Chastain allegedly profited by selling the NFTs at…

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Complaint: Timothy McKimmy v. OpenSea for loss of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs

Web3 promises a better, decentralized world, not controlled by “Big Tech” Internet platforms like Facebook. Blockchain is at the center of this movement to decentralization. But, when something goes wrong, it’s difficult to undo. Transactions on blockchain are permanent. And the names of recipients of transactions on blockchains are not readily identifiable. Anonymity reigns supreme.…

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OpenSea users experience suspected phishing attack

February 19, 2022 was a bad day for OpenSea. It is still investigating but apparently some nefarious person engaged in a phishing attack on OpenSea users that resulted in the theft of at least 254 NFTs. The thief reportedly has $1.7 million in ETH from sales.

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OpenSea founders Devin Finzer, Alex Atallah become first NFT startup billionaires after $300M Series C funding

OpenSea, the largest marketplace for NFTs, just secured Series C funding of $300 million, with a valuation of the company at $13.3 billion. In July, the valuation was $1.5 billion, with a $100 million round of funding. As the financial gurus debate whether $13.3 billion is too high, we have a more simple, if not…

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