The NFT industry is becoming more formalized with major brands, artists, and studios involved. This has led to the space grappling with how to best protect intellectual property.
Bored Ape Yacht Club, for example, has enforced strict IP usage rules and taken people to court. CryptoKitties however uses the NFT License. It was thought that NFT projects would follow Web2.0’s IP precedent, but this has changed.
What is CC0? Why are new collections using it? How different licenses could affect performanceExamples for derivative products under CC0
What is the CC0 License exactly?
Copyright disputes are a source of constant attrition among brands, creators and the community that uses the product. NFTs are a particular area where there were many lawsuits filed to settle disputes between the parties.
One example is “Roc-A-Fella Record Inc. v. Damon Dash”, in which there is a dispute over the copyright owner for Reasonable Doubt. Jay-Z’s debut album. There was also an intention to sell it through an NFT.
CC0 stands for Creative Commons 0. The “0” denotes that there are no rights reserved on the project’s intellectual properties. It is a type of copyright that allows creators the ability to give up their legal rights and make their work available in the public domain. NFT owners have the option to take their NFT’s art and make it into a brand. This license doesn’t require you to own any NFTs in the collection. Anyone can use any NFT within the collection as a logo for a company.
What collections use CC0?
Nouns was one of the first projects to use the CC0 license. Nouns was created to foster innovation by allowing users to use the Nouns characters in new projects. You can find their proposal page and other initiatives. They already have a collection of sunglasses, including a LilNouns NFT line.
Moonbirds took a different route. It began with a “regular license”, but in August 2022 it was granted CC0.
Examples of CC0 projects include Moonbirds and Nouns
The top collections using CC0 for their distribution licensing model as of August 22nd were:
NounsLil NounsMfersGoblintownwtfCrypToadzXCOPYARTcryptodickbuttslootprojectMoonbirdsoddities_xyzterraforms
You can find a more complete list here.
And why do they do it?
It is our goal to spread the word about the project to a wider audience to help them add value. The collection’s creators and NFT holders benefit from increased interaction through derivative collections and original art-related merchandise.
Giving up the rights to their collection can actually be beneficial for both the holders and the creators.
The creators/DAO usually still receive the royalties on the secondary marketIt incentivizes the creation of derivatives, which drives more attention to the original collectionDerivatives usually give an airdrop (or Whitelist spots) for the holders of the original collectionThe creators/DAO can fund new projects to enhance the collection’s popularity, creating a flywheel movement
Market Comparison: CC0x Other Licenses (Trading volume and Transactions).
As shown in the chart below, the top 10 NFT collections in trading volume that are not CC0 licenses had a total value of 168 million USD in the past 30 days.
Footprint Analytics – Trading Volume Last 30 Days, USD, Top 10 NFT Collects
In the past 30 days, USD 32 million was the trading volume for the Top 5 CC0 License Collections (see chart below). This is approximately 27% of Trading Volume for Top 10 non-CC0 licences.
Footprint Analytics – Trading Volume last 30 Days, CC0 Collections
In the past 30 days, there have been a total transaction of 89,177 transactions for these Top 10 NFT collection collections.
Footprint Analytics – 30D Transactions for Top NFT Collections, without CC0 License
Similarly, if we look at Top CC0 Collections (chart above), we see a total 7140 transactions, 8% less than the average.
Footprint Analytics – Top Collections using the CC0 – Total transactions
Even with only 8% of the transactions, the Top CC0 License Collectors had nearly 30% of the Top 10 Non-CC0 Trading Volume over the past 30 Days. As more collections switch to this licensing model, these numbers will rise.
With a case like the Noun Collection, this isn’t a trend that will disappear. Moonbirds announced that they will be moving to a DAO to supervise and incentivize logo/brand usage. This process of releasing copyrights on the collection, and sharing the direction with the NFT holders (the DAO), is an interesting development for investors. Own a piece from their collection.
Examples of derivative products that fall under CC0
XCOPY, a famous NFT creator, placed his artwork “Right Click and Save As Guy” under CC0 in January 2021. The CC0 license has led to many derivatives.
Right-click to Get Derivatives and Save As Guy
They are also available for trade, which gives them more visibility than the original artwork.
There was an explosion in derivatives of Moonbirds after their CC0 announcement. Mournbirds is one example, with the creator mentioning explicitly that the license made it possible to create the new collection.
Derivative example: Mournbirds
With a case like the Noun Collection, this isn’t a trend that will disappear. Moonbirds announced that they will be moving to a DAO to supervise and incentivize logo/brand usage. This process of releasing copyrights on the collection, and sharing its direction (the DAO), is an interesting development for investors. Own a piece from their collection.
This piece was contributed by Footprint Analytics community, August 30, 2022 Thiago Friedtas
Data Source: CC0 dashboard
The Footprint Community is where crypto and data enthusiasts from all over the world can come together to share their knowledge and insights on Web3, DeFi, GameFi and other areas of the emerging blockchain technology. You’ll find diverse voices that support each other and drive the community forward.
Footprint WebsiteDiscordTwitter
What is CC0 and how will it affect the NFT market? CryptoSlate.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.goldcoastmoneyonline.com/2nd-sept-2022/
