Report Released: Developments in Web3 for the Creative Industries
Image: Lost Tablets NFT Antonia Graza, by Jan van Schaik, 2022
‘Developments in Web3 for the Creative Industries’ is a new research report released by The Australia Council for the Arts together with RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub. The report examines how creative practitioners are currently using the tools and platforms of Web3, particularly within the context of Australia. In the chapter on Legal Considerations, Guest Work Agency Director Alana Kushnir and Professor Ellie Rennie examine the legal considerations of creating, owning and selling NFTs.
ABOUT THE REPORT
The Developments in Web3 for the Creative Industries report covers a wide variety of technologies being built upon and using the philosophical frameworks of blockchain and web3 technologies. It includes research on the use of NFTs with regards to intellectual property and resale royalties. The report also touches on the growing infrastructure around the metaverse and its connection to gaming. The report aims to equip the creative sector with the information it needs to decide how or whether they would like to engage with these technologies.
ABOUT THE LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
The law has always played catch up with technology. In this sense, the legal complexities of NFTs are not new, web3 is just raising a new set of challenges and opportunities. In her co-authored chapter, Kushnir outlines the salient legal questions arising from the burgeoning use of these technologies in the creative industries. These questions include: who has authorship when an artwork is created by a non-human entity (e.g., artificial intelligence (AI) and generative art); how or whether licences can be transferred along with a token; and whether a DAO can own intellectual property. This chapter acts as a primer to assist artists, purchasers and institutions to better understand how NFTs interact with existing Australian consumer and intellectual property laws.
Though some of the legal grey areas will only be resolved through the courts and legislature over time, Kushnir and Rennie stress that the onus is on both creators and buyers to consider the risks and seek legal advice where necessary.
THE EVENT
Along with the release of the research paper, the arts sector and the broader Australian creative community have been invited to discuss how, where and why creative practitioners are using blockchain technologies.
The event will include a conversation with report authors Professor Ellie Rennie, Dr Indigo Holcombe-James, and Alana Kushnir, as well as a panel discussion with new media artist Michelle Brown, creative technologist and entrepreneur Sean Gardner, architect and academic Jan van Schaik, and multidisciplinary artist Serwah Attafuah.
The webinar will be held on Monday 28 of November at 2pm - 3.30pm AEDT. Click here to register.