2025/06/30 by Pranav Darshan, Darshan, Pranav, Jan Rohan +7
Business, Management and Accounting · Computer Science · #Blockchain Technology Applications and Security #Computers and Society (cs.CY) #Copyright and Intellectual Property #Emerging Technologies (cs.ET) #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Intellectual Property and Patents
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2507.00172
openalex publication_date 2025/06/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Non Fungible Tokens have changed digital ownership and how creators earn money. Between 2021 and 2024, the market value exceeded 40 billion. However, the fast growth of the NFT ecosystem has revealed serious issues in managing intellectual property rights. There is a lot of confusion about the difference between owning an NFT and owning the copyright for the underlying content. This research looks at the gap between traditional copyright laws and blockchain-based transactions. We use a mixed methods approach to analyze this disconnect. We create a new IP rights matrix that clearly shows how copyright law relates to NFT ownership structures. Additionally, we include a business model taxonomy that sorts new commercial applications by their IP risk and sustainability factors. By examining important legal cases, smart contracts, and interviews with stakeholders, we find key problems in enforcing laws across different regions, standardizing licenses, and assessing business opportunities.