U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and U.S. Copyright Office Launch Joint Study on NFTs

Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office published a Notice of Inquiry in the Federal Register announcing that they are conducting a joint study regarding issues of intellectual property law and policy associated with non-fungible tokens (NFTs).  The Offices invite the public to submit written comments on these matters and will host three public roundtable meetings to gather input from the public as they conduct the study. 

Written comments must be submitted by January 9, 2023.  Following the public comment period, the Offices will host the roundtable meetings from January 10-18, 2023.  The Offices agreed to conduct the study following a request earlier this year from Senators Patrick Leahy and Thom Tillis requesting a joint study.

The Notice lists several questions for which the Offices are particularly interested in receiving answers from the public.   The full list is here, but the list includes the following questions:

Please describe any IP-related challenges or opportunities associated with NFTs or NFT markets.

Are current IP laws adequate to address the protection and enforcement of IP in the context of NFTs? If not, please explain why, including any gaps in current IP laws, and describe any legislation you believe should be considered to address these issues.