목차
I. Background 1
A. Study History 1
B. What Are NFTs? 2
1. A Unique Cryptographic Token 3
2. Ownership Recorded to a Blockchain or Other Distributed Ledger System 3
3. Providing the Owner Rights in or Access to One or More Assets or Entitlements 5
C. NFT Creation and Transfer 6
D. Uses and Challenges of NFTs 8
II. Copyright 14
A. Copyright Protection and the Minting, Storage, Marketing, and Transfer of NFTs 14
1. Minting 14
2. Storage 18
3. Marketing and Offering for Sale 20
4. Transferring NFTs and Associated Rights 23
B. Enforcement 29
C. Evolving role of NFTs in the Copyright Ecosystem 33
1. Provenance 33
2. Copyright Registration and Recordation 35
3. Remuneration for Resale or Licensed Use 39
4. Digital Rights Management 42
D. Summary 42
Ill. Trademarks 45
A. Evolving Role of NFTs in the Trademark Ecosystem 45
B. Federal Registration of Trademarks Involving NFTs 47
1. Obtaining a US Trademark Registration 47
2. Scope of Protection Afforded a US Trademark Registration 50
C. Trademark Infringement and Enforcement 54
D. Commenter Recommendations for Best Practices, Education, and Policy Surrounding Trademarks and NFTs 57
1. Best Practices 57
2. Agency Education and Guidance 58
3. Are New Laws Necessary? 59
E. Potential US PTO Use of NFTs in the Trademark Context 60
F. Summary 62
IV. Patents 63
A. Use of NFTs to Manage Patents 63
1. Transferring Rights and Portfolio Management 63
2. Tracking Royalties 64
3. Fractional Patent Ownership 64
B. Obtaining Patent Rights for NFT-related Inventions 65
1. Patent Eligibility 65
2. Novelty and Non-Obviousness 68
3. lnventorship 69
4. Are New Laws Necessary? 70
C. Potential USPTO Use of NFTs in the Patent Context 70
D. Summary 71
V. Conclusion 72
