After NFTs exploded Over the past year, the US Patent and Trademark Office and US Copyright Office launched a joint study to examine the impact of digital assets on intellectual property rights.
The inquiry comes about a month after Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, a Democrat, and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a Republican, wrote to the offices asking them to investigate NFTs, given their exponential growth in a short space of time.
“Tillis has been at the forefront of the [Digital Millennium Copyright Act] for quite some time,” Gordon Allott, president and CEO of regulatory technology for digital assets and virtual currencies at BroadPeak Partners, told Marketingwithanoy. “Everyone is pretty familiar with the phrase ‘I’ve DMCA’d.’”
The senators’ letter sparked the agencies’ interest: “As requested, we are writing to acknowledge receipt of your letter and to advise that we will indeed conduct the investigation,” the offices wrote. “The USPTO and USCO have had preliminary discussions about the next steps and how best to consult stakeholders on this topic.”
This is the first step to get NFT’s next term on Congress’ agenda, Allott said. “Copyright infringement interests have increased with NFTs. Someone can steal your copyright, sell it as an NFT, and then disappear. You can use DMCA until the cows come home, but you won’t get your money.”