“If you search popular NFT marketplaces, and spend a few minutes typing in keywords like Andy Warhol, NBA, Spiderman, or Nike, you’ll inevitably be looking at some fake NFTs,” says Jeff Gluck, the founder of CXIP.
CXIP (pronounced “CHIP”) is a new copyright platform — a protocol for authenticating NFTs that allows you to protect and monetize intellectual property. Recently launched as an invite-only Alpha version, it requires all NFTs listed on the platform to be registered with the United States Copyright Office in an effort to curb the boom in bootleg NFTs. It grants Copyright registration within five minutes and without the need for expensive lawyers.
The digital realm has always had a difficult relationship with the copyright laws of the real world, although the latter does apply to the former. Although blockchain provides a unique token identity, records a transaction, and can prove ownership, it does not prove authorship.
By registering every NFT on their site with the Copyright Office, CXIP aims to become the StockX of the NFT world. A CXIP certification will be something like what a blue checkmark is for Twitter, and their certification can be integrated across all marketplaces.
While a fake NFT might seem ironic at first to a general public that is still wary of NFTs, Gluck says that’s just a learning curve that people will have to overcome. “If an artist legitimately creates a piece of original content, and sells it as an NFT, there’s nothing fake about that. What we’re having trouble justifying at the moment are these huge prices. But then again, how can someone justify paying $300,000 dollars for a Pokemon card, or Michael Jordan rookie card that’s made of cardboard?”
Don’t expect to see the person who created a fake Andy Warhol NFT end up in jail anytime soon, though. The penalty for infringement is a heavy fine — as of a 2019 Supreme Court ruling, the only recourse for an artist to avoid copyright infringement is to register their work with the Copyright Office, whether they do that with CXIP or not.
