NFT And Copyright Law In India: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Ownership And Intellectual

NFT And Copyright Law In India: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Ownership And Intellectual Property

Bhavana Tewari & Mahek Panjwani, Alliance University, Bengaluru

ABSTRACT

Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) are considered to be those digital assets that have recently acquired popularity, particularly in the fields of art, music, and collectibles. With the introduction of NFTs, copyright law has been presented with a new difficulty in protecting creators' rights in the digital environment. NFTs are some distinct type of digital ownership that has grown in popularity in the art world. India has a well-established legal framework for copyright protection as a signatory to numerous international treaties and conventions connected to intellectual property rights. The applicability of copyright law to NFTs is a largely uncharted field in India.

This paper examines the legal consequences of NFTs in the context of Indian copyright law. It begins with an overview of NFTs and how they work. The study then looks into the challenges surrounding NFT copyright protection, such as whether NFTs may be regarded as works of authorship and who owns the copyright in NFTs. Furthermore, the article investigates the legal issues raised by NFTs, such as their ability to infringe on the rights of copyright holders and the possibility of numerous ownership claims over the same NFT. The paper goes on to discuss the legal issues raised by NFTs, such as their ability to infringe on the rights of copyright holders and the possibility of multiple ownership claims against the same NFT.

The study concludes by arguing that existing copyright law in India is wide enough to accommodate NFTs and that copyright law principles should be applied to NFTs in a way that is compatible with the underlying policy objectives of copyright law.

The paper begins with a review of NFTs, their operation, and their emergence in the art world. It then analyses India's copyright law structure and assesses how NFTs fit within it. The paper also addresses whether NFTs can be deemed works of authorship under copyright law, as well as the ownership of the copyright in NFTs.

Keywords: NFT’S, Copyright, Owner, Authorship, Treaties.