George McCubbin

Senior Associate, Intellectual Property and Cyber law
Painter» @GoodnightThief
Art blog» NFTs, art and web3 «

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

My interest in art and work in IP overlap pretty seamlessly in the realm of NFTs. This is the first of a series of blog posts on NFTs, where I and the team at HSF explore IP considerations, misconceptions and issues that we are seeing arising in the space
https://t.co/X52ZMCeIuu

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

@ChristiesInc has partnered with @Penn to auction an NFT of a modified digital image of US Patent no 8,278,036 and 8,691,966, being the patents that cover mRNA vaccines against the COVID-19 virus. Funds raised will be used for research - interesting idea
https://t.co/GJYP9V1MQ8

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

The court said that “It does not follow that any secondary work that adds a new aesthetic or new expression to its source material is necessarily transformative”. Warhol's silkscreen process preserved much of the original photograph and so the series is substantially similar.

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

Warhol copyright litigation 101:
• Lynn Goldsmith took photos of prince in 1981
• Warhol made works based on photos
• Lynn only aware of works in 2017
• In 2021, court held works were NOT fair use
• Warhol Foundation has appealed to US Supreme Court
https://t.co/Djl18wq5cV

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

And now a University Professor has minted 16 NFTs https://t.co/LsS3DTkoUk based on Warhol's Prince series, because the court also held (in addition to the finding on fair use) that the Warhol's were not protected by copyright

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

Did @Sothebys just have one of their worst modern & contemporary day auctions in recent memory? Of the 200 lots, only 73% sold. Of the modern lots, only 66% sold, leaving many Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, Cezanne, Modigliani and Miro's unsold. #art #auctions https://t.co/Nf4fBCU6Zs

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

New post on my website about @hirst_official and originality in #art →
https://t.co/TgRftDaMGK

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

Published an article on The Currency #art #nft project by @hirst_official and @HENI, now that the window to redeem the NFTs for the physical works is closing at the end of July. Read more
https://t.co/JXTtyoyQJM

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

See eg US mark 97432789 for YEEZUS covering "... providing an online marketplace for buyers of crypto and/digital collectibles, currencies, tokens and assets; providing an online marketplace for buyers of blockchain-based non-fungible collectibles, assets, currencies and tokens"

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

If you're managing a brand rn, one question is whether you should be filing new trade marks in classes to explicitly cover NFTs and web3. @kanyewest recently did so, filing new YEEZUS trade marks to cover "crypto, currencies, tokens and assets".
https://t.co/zyHBPewrkj

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

Of course while @SethGreen may no longer hold the NFT, @yugalabs still owns the IP in his @BoredApeYC and could grant him another licence to IP (as the earlier licence is non-exclusive, multiple people can hold rights to the same NFT). Problem is the new owner also has a licence.

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

Great summary by @JessicaRizzo19 from @MMWR_Law on the @SethGreen NFT theft: SG had a @BoredApeYC, which was stolen and resold. SG was making a series about his ape relying on the IP licence granted by @yugalabs to NFT holders. No ape, no express licence

https://t.co/zPz5XuMt6x

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

@EricJohnArt 100 AI generated poems and images to match with 3 hand-painted works I made, all can be seen on my site https://t.co/CIlTdYYRnV ☠

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

If this reasoning was followed in US/EU courts, then platforms like @opensea would be liable for hosting infringing content. There is apparently a large volume of lawsuits waiting in opposition.

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

New decision out of China. NFT platform #Qice sued another platform #Bigverse for allowing the minting of a copycat NFT lifted from its site. The court held that the NFT platform was liable for copyright violation, despite having t&c's that specify NFTs must be the minter's own

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

NFTs (and the associated images) are 'property' for legal purposes according to the UK High Court. This means that property-related causes of action and remedies are available to NFT holders, such as injunctions and freezing orders. Here, against @OpenSea.
https://t.co/33ikoyeDfS

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

2/2 On 1st amendment argument by @mschf, a successful parody must convey two conflicting messages - it is the original, but also it is not the original and is instead a parody. Judge did not think this was satisfied here.
Read full judgment at https://t.co/9BhKJaPYNn

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

@Vans have secured an injunction against @mschf in relation to their wavy baby shoes, a colab with @Tyga. Why? 1) Old Skool design is unique identifier linking shoes to Vans; 2) shoes are similar in design; 3) evidence of actual confusion = injunction 1/2
https://t.co/RQ9Sdl6RvJ

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

@ASICSamerica partnered with @Stepnofficial to create a limited NFT sneaker collection. Stepn is a GPS-based platform that rewards users with crypto for moving, to encourage fitness. You have to first purchase virtual sneakers to play. Floor price is >$3k.
https://t.co/NdSNYIb7jj

[George McCubbin @George_McCubbin]

How @yugalabs became a $4B juggernaut via @DefiantNews?
1) Initial accessible pricing (0.08Ξ)
2) Early Twitter community #apefollowape
3) Good graphic design
4) Early merch drops
5) Early spin-off collections
Aka move fast.
+ @pranksy buying 12.5% of NFTs
https://t.co/v3OIr9Bi0e