Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Focused solely on intellectual property law. Our work spans the full range of intellectual property related to European, German, UK, and U.S. IP law. Working with IP-savvy clients across the globe, we partner with companies to apply our vast technical expertise and focused legal experience to offer solutions that will serve their business now and in the long run.
PART 1
Demystifying NFTs and Intellectual Property: What You Need to Know
Suddenly, the world is atwitter about NFTs! From the Super Bowl LVI to fractionalized NFT ownership of Banksy’s “Love Is in the Air,” NFTs are a hot topic in many circles. But what about the intellectual property implications of NFTs? This three-part series will consider potential IP protections for NFTs, implications for design patents, and trademark protections for NFTs.
PART 2
Demystifying NFTs: Intellectual Property Protections With Design Patents
In our last article, we discussed the implications of NFTs and how intellectual property rights could be used to protect them. In this article, we will explore the availability and implications of design patent protections for NFTs.
NFTs create a path for intellectual property owners to monetize their intellectual property. This often occurs through licensing, as discussed in the first article in this series. As IP owners brand and license their NFTs and NFTs become more valuable, it will be increasingly important to examine strategies to protect their intellectual property. Could design patents be one such type of IP?
PART 3
Demystifying NFTs and Intellectual Property: Trademark and Copyright Concerns
Although NFT technology is relatively new, the intellectual property laws governing it are not. Nevertheless, increased popularity of innovative technologies like NFTs, as brands expand their presence in the metaverse, can raise novel legal questions.
In our last article we discussed how design patents can protect NFTs. Now it’s time to consider how existing trademark and copyright laws can be used to protect brands, NFTs, and NFT-related products in real life and the metaverse, a three-dimensional virtual world that often mimics the physical world we live in.