Notes

How to Report Plagiarized NFTs as Stolen Art

You've been ripped off.



Someone took your art and, without your permission, minted it as a non-fungible token. The same scammer is selling NFTs of your stolen art and earning lots of money. This is a tragic and regular situation. There are fortunately alternatives. However, it is difficult to get your stolen artwork removed on major NFT exchanges like OpenSea or Rarible.



Welcome to the opposite side of the highly-hyped NFT coin where fake works and plagiarized artwork dominate the $44 billion market. The problem is so widespread that in the month of January 2022, the self-described "world's largest and first NFT marketplace," OpenSea, admitted that more than 80 percent of NFTs minted using its free minting tool "were plagiarized work or fake collections. They also included spam."



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



A Bay Area artist goes by the name "bor" and is the administrator of the Twitter account @NFTtheft. They said they prefer to remain anonymous due to harassment directed at artists who are against non-fungible tokens.



Bor wrote that plagiarism is a recurring issue in the NFT space and will always be a component of it. "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 purchase, sell, or list NFTs are well aware of. The steps they take to mitigate it, however, often fail to meet the requirements. OpenSea and Rarible (a competitor to OpenSea) have established procedures for people who wish to report stolen work. However, as artists often point out that reporting NFTs isn't always straightforward.



Many artists consider it to be their only choice.



How do I report a stolen NFT on OpenSea



OpenSea's Help Center is available.



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, provide as much detail as you can to show that an OpenSea listing is only your artwork that you have posted without permission (include hyperlinks). Please describe the images you've included (see Step 6).





Under "Attachments," include screenshots both of where your art actually lives online (presumably someone stumbled across it to copy before posting on OpenSea) and the infringing NFT listings.





Hit "Submit."





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



"When you make a report in the next step our team will go through the collection to determine if it violates our Terms of Service and will take action to remove it if it does," explains the company's Help Center. Minecraft The ticket will be closed when it is solved. You may not receive a response from us.



How do I report a stolen NFT via Rarible



Rarible is similar to OpenSea has a reporting process that lets users report stolen artworks on its marketplace as NFTs that are available for sale. Rarible permits you to report stolen artwork as NFTs.



Once you have located the NFT you are looking for, click the three dots located in the upper-right corner.





Select the "Report" option.





Write down that the work was stolen, and give as much detail as you can to back up your claim.





Click "Report".





Rarible cannot assure you that it will not be removed from the NFT. Artists' frustration is understandable since Rarible doesn't guarantee that it will respond to their concerns.



How do you stop plagiarized NFTs from being plagiarized?



Despite artists being able to report stolen NFTs directly to marketplaces listing them for sale, the issue of thieves making a profit from the work of illustrators as well as designers, musicians and other creators isn't near being resolved. According to the artist behind @NFTtheft's Twitter account problem is systemic and will need an overall solution.



"Scammers are stealing from YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Deviant Art, Artstation and even Minecraft fan forums," wrote bor. "If it can be downloaded, scammers will try to take it. Artists have less control than ever over their work.



Indeed, a quick glance at Twitter shows scores of shocked artists claiming that someone has gotten their work and, with no' knowledge, minted and sold it as NFTs.



What other actions, other than notifying NFTs plagiarized, could people who are unaware of this sometimes fraudulent market? Non-fungible token true believers will not like the answer, if Bor is right.


Here's my website: https://talkegypt.net/