A New York court has dismissed a case over an artist’s right to “the world’s first NFT” (non-fungible token), which sold for $1.5 million (£1.2 million) at Sotheby’s in 2021. It represents the first legal case in the US to examine how blockchain technology affects the ownership of digital art.
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Christie’s sale of Fidenza NFT for £365,000 – a resurgence for digital art NFTs?
On 28 February, the Christie’s 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale offered Fidenza #724, a digital pigment print on paper which was sold accompanied by a NFT by the artist and software engineer Tyler Hobbs. Christie’s described the work as “channelling inspiration from art history and nature into innovative computer code.” The work exceeded its pre-sale estimate of £200,000-300,000, selling for £365,000. This sale is the latest in what seems to be a resurgence in the NFT and digital art market.
Continue readingNon-fungible tokens: the legal & commercial implications
Innovation in the virtual world, increasingly known to many as the metaverse, is constantly evolving.
Continue readingFamily of Hilma af Klint condemns NFT drop of her paintings
The family of Swedish abstract artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) have criticized a digital drop of NFTs based on the artist’s series Paintings for the Temple (1906-1915). The NFTs were produced by Stolpe Publishing, Acute Art and Pharrell Williams’ company GODA (Gallery of Digital Assets), not by the Hilma af Klint Foundation who owns the original paintings.
Continue readingDamien Hirst’s latest burning stunt leaves critics all fired up
Damien Hirst is setting fire to almost £10 million worth of his own artwork after selling non-fungible token (NFT) versions of the pieces. The notorious artist revealed that the process of burning his physical art “feels good, better than I expected.”
Continue readingWinners announced at second annual NFT Awards in New York
NFT.NYC, the international NFT (non-fungible tokens) industry conference, has kicked off in New York this week. There were more than 30 categories at the second annual NFT Awards in areas including visual arts, gaming and fashion.
Continue readingNew NFTs of looted African art released
A new NFT project was released earlier in May which seeks to find an alternative form of restitution of African looted art. The project, titled ‘Looty’, plans to (legally) make NFTs of artifacts known to have been looted from Africa and sell them, with 20% of the proceeds going to a fund to provide a young African artist with a grant.
Continue readingNFTs recognised as legal property in landmark case
The High Court ruled last week that NFTs are now to be considered legal property, marking a significant step forward for victims of NFT theft, who will now be more confidently able to apply for an injunction when finding that their NFTs have been misappropriated.
Continue readingHacking of Bored Ape Yacht Club’s Instagram leads to $3 million (£2.4 million) NFT theft
On Monday morning, the official Instagram account of a non-fungible token (NFT) collection suffered a major hack. It is estimated that a whopping $3 million (£2.4 million) worth of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs were taken during the mass theft.
Continue readingTeenager Nyla Hayes makes nearly $7 million selling her NFTs of prominent women
A thirteen-year-old has made nearly $7 million by selling NFTs of her illustrations of women which are designed to incorporate the designer’s trademark long necks. Hayes’ drawings include a number of famous women, both historical and living, such as Michelle Obama, Virginia Woolf, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Greta Thunberg and Frida Kahlo. Hayes has said that the trademark long neck was inspired by her love as a child of brontosaurus dinosaurs.
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