Kidnapped Bored Ape Shows NFTs’ Commercialization

Actor Seth Green’s plans to turn the boring Ape NFT into a TV show seem to have crashed and burned just weeks before its launch after a scammer stole a non-fungible token.

Green, the owner of a cartoon collection in a halo and skeleton shirt, planned to make the cartoon collection the star of his new show, White Horse Tavern. Ape Yacht Club # 8398? “

..@SethGreen Keep an eye on the new trailer for his new show ?@BoredApeYC @GutterCatGang @veefriends pic.twitter.com/ZzYN87HYWA

— FFVV1211.eth (@ FFVV1211) May 21, 2022

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is one of the most popular NFT collections, selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars and being accepted by celebrities from Jimmy Fallon to Eminem. One of the strengths of the product turned out to be, very rarely, the fact that the owner of the NFT has acquired full commercial rights to Avatar.

See more: Boring Planet of the Apes

Some have already taken advantage of it — witness the line of backpack boys marijuana in front of BAYC # 768, a primate in a white fur blue hat with silver hoop earrings.

Green’s problem does not seem to be clear about his actual rights to the boring monkey (now named Fred). There is even doubt in the legal community whether it is still owned by Green or by @ DarkWing84 purchased from a thief.

Read more: What do I get when I buy an NFT?Less than I expected

It may sound ridiculous — it’s clearly stolen property, and even knowingly owning stolen property is generally a crime.

Wrong copy

Keeping in mind that NFT copyright law is a “particularly annoying” and untested legal area, lawyer Daniel Dubin told BuzzFeed that @ DarkWing84 “if you want to cause problems with Seth Green, that’s it.” It’s probably possible because people become the owners of commercial rights. ” To a boring monkey.

In any case, it’s unclear enough to put the project on hold, BuzzFeed said on May 25.

Part of the problem is that the copyright terms of BAYC developer Yuga Labs are “badly drafted”, and nevertheless, the famous cipher that said the copyright infringement proceedings against Green could not win. Attorney Preston Burn said. The problem is that it shows that the smart contract built into the NFT controls that right.

The terms of tl; dr BAYC are badly drafted and should not be made clear that the copyright is retained and not assigned by Yuga Labs. It also does not specify what to do with licensing in the event of theft. It was completely under the control of Yuga Labs.

— Prestonjbyrne (@prestonjbyrne) May 24, 2022

Calling this controversy “nonsense,” Drew Hinks, a professor of law at New York University, tweeted that “the stolen rights granted under license … give the system power, not legal rights.” Legal rights come from the law. “

This is not the only area of ​​copyright law being tested. Hermes is suing the artist who sold the NFT image of the Birkin bag.

Reference: Hermes trademark proceedings against MetaBirkins NFT artists

Be creative

The rights associated with BAYC Fred will almost certainly return to the green someday, but the controversy is that NFT owners will go beyond their initial use by brands that released NFTs such as Gucci and Nike. It shows the fact that it is beginning to be commercialized. A product that can be held or “worn” by Metaverse avatars.

Read more: PYMNTS NFT Series: At Metaverse, NFTs can buy experiences, luxury and eyeballs

For example, Archie Comics has launched an NFT collection inspired by the hit TV show “Sabrina’s Calm Adventure.” This allows 66,666 owners to “submit a story about their character.” The selected person will receive credits in the next cartoon. “

Credit rights aren’t exactly salaries, but they give show fans the potential to be part of a franchise.

Also read: hype may be shrinking, but NFT use, buyers are growing

Forgotten Runes Wizard’s Cult, an NFT community building project, enhances licensing creativity and offers wizard-themed NFT buyers a non-exclusive, royalty-free commercial license that can generate up to $ 5 million in revenue. increase. After that, 20% royalties will begin.

The music group Chainsmokers is offering 5,000 NFTs to frequent concert attendees and other hardcore fans, collecting 1% of the album’s sales.

Read more: Pop duo chain smoker presents NFTs including streaming music loyalty

They are not alone. Hip-hop legend Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels has worked with NFT producer Song That Owns Itself (STOI) to tokenize and subdivide ownership of one of his songs, “Million Scars.” ..

NFT sales have the big goal of creating the next iteration of the music industry that values ​​creators and fans and supports them all in the most transparent and fair way possible, “McDaniels releases. It is stated in.

Reference: PYMNTS NFT Series: NFT used by artists to create musical “middle class”