Art is said to be stolen, but now, at least in the UK, it’s stealing someone’s NFT. Definitely great news for those who love to combine complex concepts, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) have gained an important territory in the legal decisions made by the British High Court. The proceedings that established the NFT as such a legally advocate “property” were filed in March by Lavinia Osbourne, the founder of Women at Blockchain Talks. Osbourne claimed that two digital artworks from the Boss Beauties NFT collection purchased through the NFT marketplace OpenSea were stolen from an online wallet.
The non-essential nature of NFTs and their growing value as tradable crypto products have made NFTs another area where the legal system is chasing a new kind of economy. Others are trying to take advantage of the feeding frenzy around them. A UK ruling, due out later this week, recognizes digital assets as assets that can provide legal protection. In this case, these protections include a court injunction to freeze the assets of the Ozone Networks (hosting OpenSea) account and the disclosure of a “convincing” Bankers Trust. [OpenSea] Send information about the two account owners holding the stolen NFT.
Reports of NFT theft seem to have been around for as long as the technology itself. After all, stealing something of value without permission is theft, and where the lazy rich go, fraudsters follow. However, the groundbreaking nature of this proceeding lies in the establishment of a legal precedent for NFTs as property. This allows the parties to the proceedings to exercise the full power of the court, for example, to seize stolen assets or force repayment.
“It’s most important because, for the first time in the world (as far as we know), the court has admitted that the NFT is a property that can be frozen by an injunction,” said Racheal Muldoon. According to, the lawyer in the case Art newspaper.. “Therefore, this ruling is not that under English and Welsh law, NFTs (as tokens composed of codes) are their own property and are different from what NFTs represent (such as digital artwork). Eliminate certainty. “
In addition, this ruling includes permission to process orders regardless of jurisdiction. This is a major issue in the case of digital art theft, as it is not always possible to pinpoint the theft or the physical location of the asset.
In fact, the concept of NFTs as property is not abstract as an extension of patent law or general intellectual property law. Underlying complex information, NFTs are essentially virtual ideas, basically of the same quality as all other conceptual art. Currently, these ideas have a legal safety net, at least in the UK. Perhaps after achieving a legal foothold in one place, NFT policies will continue to grow. Soon, a whole new category of lawyers will emerge, ready to surround the NFT’s concept of inviolability with inviolable lawyers. How long it takes to live on a dying planet!
