On The Copyright Issues Of NFT Digital Works

There are three problems in the application of copyright law to NFT digital works:unclear determination of the relationship between NFT digital works and the carrier of the work,failure to respond to the nature of the right to display online of NFT digital works,and controversy over whether the principle of exhaustion of distribution rights can be applied.The relationship between NFT digital works and the carrier of the work,there are two views that distinguish between the original and the copy of the NFT digital work and the original and the copy of the NFT digital work.Regarding how to distinguish the original from the copy of an NFT digital work,there are theoretically different ways to identify the original:the carrier of the first fixed work is the original,the carrier with the NFT logo is the original,and the carrier recognized and publicized by the author is the original.Whether the carrier of the first fixed NFT digital work is a trading platform or the creator’s computer storage,the standard based on the fact that the carrier of the first fixed work is the original cannot make an accurate judgment;Determining that the carrier with the NFT logo is the original will cause most of the existing original works to be recognized as the original after being chained,and the scope of the original is too large;The carrier identified and published by the author is the original,and identifying a certain number of copies as the original violates the principle of the identification of the original,and the limit boundary cannot be determined.The object of NFT digital work trading is unique,whether the original or the copy can be guaranteed through a specific logo to transfer a specific NFT digital work carrier,from the transaction object and visual experience there is no difference between the copy and the original.In the sense of the Copyright Law,the difference between the original and the copy is reflected in the provisions on the right of the owner of the original to exhibit the original in the exhibition right,the intangibility of the NFT digital work carrier makes it not have the conditions for physical exhibition,and the lack of exhibition power makes the original and the copy indistinguishable from the benefits.There are two views on the nature of the right to display NFT digital works online,whether the online display of NFT digital works is regulated by the right of exhibition or by the right of information network dissemination.The online display of NFT digital works is recognized as an exhibition act,and the criteria for identifying the original of NFT digital works cannot be unified,which will also lead to the blurring of the boundary between the right of exhibition and the right of information network dissemination.The online display of NFT digital works belongs to remote transmission,which conforms to the interactive characteristics of information network communication rights,and only involves the possibility of enabling the public to obtain the works,so it is more reasonable for the online display of NFT digital works to be regulated by the information network dissemination rights.The existing theories are divided into the question of whether the principle of exhaustion of issuance rights can be applied to the resale of NFT digital works,the exhaustion of issuance rights cannot be applied,and the exhaustion of issuance rights is limited.The reason why the principle of exhaustion of distribution rights cannot be applied is that there is no physical transfer of ownership in the transfer of digital works,and after clarifying the mode and nature of NFT digital works transactions,it is concluded that there is a transfer of ownership in their transactions.From the perspective of the sale and resale of NFT digital works,NFT digital works have the property attributes of online virtual property,and their transaction time,method and transaction subject can be verified and viewed in the blockchain,which plays a publicity effect of the proposed change of property rights.