In recent years, Web3 and blockchain technology have changed how we think about digital ownership and copyright. If you're not familiar with these concepts, here's a plain-language guide.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this new digital landscape is the sale of art on the blockchain, particularly in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

At its core, an NFT is a unique digital asset that represents ownership of a specific piece of content; at Artega, this records a proof of agreement between a practitioner and their client. Unlike traditional art, which can be physically owned and displayed, an NFT exists solely on the blockchain - a decentralised digital ledger. This means that each NFT is recorded and verified on a network of computers, ensuring its uniqueness and authenticity.

When a practitioner creates an NFT, they are not merely selling the artwork itself; they are selling metadata associated with that artwork. Metadata is essentially data about data. In the context of NFTs, it includes information such as:

When a payment is confirmed on Artega, this metadata is recorded as your proof of agreement; it records that a transaction took place, not ownership of a digital file. The digital file itself - like an image or video - may still be accessible to anyone online, but your NFT serves as a certificate of ownership. Just like owning a print of a famous painting doesn’t grant you the rights to reproduce or sell the original artwork, owning an NFT does not automatically convey copyright over the art it represents.

Here’s an example of the metadata you are buying - you can see, it proves you have ownership of the art, but is not the art itself. The artwork does not end up on the blockchain.

This is where things can get confusing, especially for those used to traditional art ownership. Copyright is a legal framework that grants creators exclusive rights to their works, allowing them to control reproduction, distribution, and public display. However, when it comes to NFTs, purchasing the token doesn’t grant you copyright over the artwork unless explicitly stated.

For example, if an practitioner sells an NFT of their painting, they may retain the copyright to the image. This means they still hold the rights to print it, reproduce it, or use it in other ways. Buyers of the NFT typically only gain the right to own the token itself, which is a representation of the artwork rather than the artwork’s rights.

Artega is for practitioners. We support copyright and will vigilantly uphold the industry gold standard which is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

If you see your work appear on our site, please submit our Takedown Form and we’ll take steps to remove the artwork from our site and penalise the offending account holder.

Only metadata, as shown above, gets transferred to the blockchain and to the buyer so there is nothing to remove from the blockchain or wallets.

The complexities of copyright law still apply to art sold as digital assets, but licences don't automatically transfer with NFTs unless clearly stated. As this technology matures, so too will our understanding of digital ownership and copyright in the evolving digital landscape.

We invite you to explore innovative ways of integrating different licences to your NFTs while considering copyright implications. You may choose to sell limited rights alongside your NFTs, allowing clients to use the art in certain ways, or you may choose to keep all rights reserved.

Get in touch and let us know what works for you - we're always interested to hear how practitioners are using Artega.