Notes

How to Report Plagiarized NFTs as Stolen Art

You've been scammed.



Someone stole your art and made it an un-fungible object without your permission. The same fraudster has listed those NFTs of your stolen art for sale, and is raking in the undeserved profits. This is a tragic and regular situation. Fortunately, you have choices. But, it's not simple to get your stolen art removed from major NFT exchanges such as OpenSea or Rarible.



Here's the other side to the overhyped NFT coin. Plagiarized artwork and fake work dominate what was in 2021 a $44 million market. The scourge is so prevalent, in fact, that in January of 2022 the self-described "world's largest and first NFT marketplace," OpenSea, admitted that more than 80 percent of NFTs that were minted using its no-cost minting tool "were copied works or fake collections. They also included spam."



Artists, unfortunately, are all too familiar with this less glamorous aspect of NFTs. Twitter accounts dedicated to exposing the minted NFTs of stolen artwork, like @NFTtheft, have a large number of followers and draw attention to this common fraud.



The Twitter account @NFTtheft is operated by an artist from the Bay Area artist who goes by "bor." They stated in a explicit messages that they prefer to remain anonymous because of the discrimination against artists who are opposed to non-fungible tokens.



"I would like to emphasize that plagiarism is an unsolvable problem in the NFT space, and will always be part of it," wrote bor. "As long as anyone can mint anything while remaining pseudonymous on an unregulated/decentralized technology, plagiarism is going to be a big problem."



It's a problem that marketplaces, where people can list, purchase and sell NFTs, are well aware of. The steps they take to mitigate the problem, however, often fail to meet the requirements. OpenSea and Rarible (a competitor to OpenSea) have established procedures for those who want to report stolen work. However, as artists frequently say, reporting NFTs isn't always easy.



Many artists view it as their only option.



OpenSea: How to report a stolen NFT



Visit OpenSea's Help Center.



Under the "How can we assist you?" drop-down menu, select "Intellectual Property Rights Violation / Takedown Request."





Enter your email address.





In the subject line in the subject line, type "fraudulent content."





In the "Description" section In the "Description" section, give as much detail as you can in order to prove that an OpenSea listing is only your work that you've posted without permission (include hyperlinks). Define the images you've included (see Step 6).





Include screenshots under "Attachments" of both the places your artwork is actually online (presumably someone copied it before posting it on OpenSea). Also include the NFT listings.





Hit "Submit."





OpenSea cannot guarantee any result or guarantee that the company will get back with you.



"When you submit a request and submit it to us for a follow-up the team will look over the information to determine if it is in violation of our Terms of Service and will take action to remove it if so," explains the company's Help Center. The ticket will be closed once it is solved. You might not receive a response from us.



How can I report a stolen NFT on Rarible



Like OpenSea, Rarible has a process that allows users to submit reports of stolen artwork listed on its marketplace as NFTs available for sale. To report stolen artwork in the form of NFTs on Rarible:



Once you've identified the NFT in question, click the three dots in the upper-right corner.





Select the "Report" option.





Write down the claim that the work was stolen, and provide as many details as you can to support your claim.





Click "Report".





Rarible can't promise that it will remove itself from the NFT. The company doesn't even promise it will get back to you - making artists' frustration all too acceptable.



How can you stop plagiarized NFTs



Despite artists being able to report stolen NFTs directly on marketplaces listing them for sale, the problem of thieves making a profit from the work of illustrators as well as musicians, designers, and other creators is not far from being resolved. According to the artist who created the Twitter account @NFTtheft, the issue is a systemic one and will require an overall solution.



"Scammers are stealing content from YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Deviant Art, Artstation, and even Minecraft fan forums," wrote bor. "If it's possible to download it, scammers will try to take it. Artists have less control than ever before over their creations.



Indeed, a quick glance at Twitter shows hundreds of artists who are shocked and claim that someone has taken their work, and, without knowing, printed and sold it as NFTs.



What other steps can those who are knowingly being dragged into this often fraudulent world do, other than notifying NFTs that are plagiarized? Minecraft True believers who are not fungible will not like the answer, if bor is correct.


Homepage: https://outguessing.com/