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GUEST ARTICLE: The future of NFTs: Digital Property Rights
Mumbai: NFTs have revolutionised the internet market, ushering in a new budding world of creator empowerment. But very few people understand the underlying technology and cultural momentum that make NFTs and web3.0 so exciting for, and disruptive to, the traditional entertainment sector. With this technology, creators have a secure and infinitely distributable way to create value around and in their creative endeavours.
But let’s start with the basics: NFTs possess scalable capabilities that we haven’t seen earlier in the creative sector.
1) NFTs are secure–meaning that the age-old issues of piracy and illegal exploitation of one’s creative work are dramatically reduced.
2) NFTs are portable at the click of a button; an artist can not only create and share directly with their audience, but the audience can now share and promote that work to the global community as well.
3) NFTs are dynamic and programmable in any way the creator sees fit; from a simple piece of art to a benefits-packed loyalty club, to a certificate of achievement, NFTs can be created to address a variety of use cases, and the technology’s possibilities continue to evolve to this day.
NFTs disrupt gaming industry
Gamification acts as a catalyst for community building, thereby making communities cutting-edge and dynamic. Within communities, managers can provide tangible incentives to their consumers. On accomplishing a milestone in the community, members can be rewarded with a certain NFT that has attached benefits to it. This not only spearheads community participation and community building but evokes the interest of the community members and keeps them hooked.
The future of businesses and brands
Even for businesses and brands, NFT communities help in more ways than one; the former get the opportunity to learn more about NFTs and obtain tangible outcomes. Furthermore, brands and marketers are utilising this technology to communicate directly with consumers and potential customers, primarily gen-z and millennials.
Apart from brands, artists themselves have also begun to experiment with creating NFTs & venture out in this space. The amount of money that some artists make is enough to not only maintain their projects but also fund new projects, pay for education, or even donate some of the earnings to charities and causes of interest. Also, organisations can develop NFT art as a standalone fundraiser, and in exchange, the artists can shower their fans with a range of benefits.
Additionally, NFTs themselves can be utilised in the metaverse. Online trades in traditional art and collectibles are fairly common, but allowing artists to take their creative works of art worth millions of dollars around the world into the metaverse is a huge win for the creator.
How NFT artists can actually get digital property rights
The biggest advantage that artists get as NFT artists is digital property rights. When an NFT artist designs or produces an original piece, the artist automatically gets its digital property rights, which ensures its safety from fraudulent claims by another artist trying to get credit for their piece.
This, however, is primarily only eligible when the piece is unique, the first and only of its kind. If it becomes a recreation or a digital representation of an already existing masterpiece, it does not give the artist any digital property rights, as the intellectual property rights belong to the original creator. Some of the important aspects of intellectual property that should be taken into consideration include trademarks and copyright. Another big advantage of the blockchain is that NFTs also include restrictions which prevent buyers from reverse engineering the technology and reselling it as their own. Thus, without a valid agreement, a creator may forfeit all ownership rights. Because anyone can create NFTs, both buyers and sellers should be cautious about how IP rights are addressed with NFTs.
As the NFT industry continues to grow and evolve, artists are known to have more liberty and independence. With being able to decide their royalty fees and getting all sorts of control with the rights for their art, many traditional and digital artists are choosing independence as a means of prospect in their line of work.
NFTs have the potential to decentralise, providing doors to a new economy and building a large and loyal community. And perhaps, this is one of the many reasons why both digital and traditional artists that are established & emerging have been switching their plans to be a part of the web3.0 space, building their own fanverse.
The author of this article is HeyHey CEO & founder Caleb Franklin.
iWorld
Meta warns 200 users after fake Whatsapp spyware attack
Italy-targeted campaign used unofficial app to deploy surveillance spyware.
MUMBAI: It looked like a message, but it behaved like a mole. Meta has warned around 200 users most of them in Italy after uncovering a targeted spyware campaign that weaponised a fake version of WhatsApp to infiltrate devices. The attack, first reported by Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, relied on classic social engineering with a modern twist: persuading users to download an unofficial WhatsApp clone embedded with surveillance software. The malicious application, believed to be developed by Italian firm SIO through its subsidiary ASIGINT, was designed to mimic the real app closely enough to bypass suspicion.
Meta’s security teams identified roughly 200 individuals who may have installed the compromised version, triggering immediate countermeasures. Affected users were logged out of their accounts and issued alerts warning of potential privacy breaches, with the company describing the incident as a “targeted social engineering attempt” aimed at gaining device-level access.
The malicious app was not distributed via official app stores but circulated through third-party channels, where it was presented as a legitimate WhatsApp alternative. Once installed, it reportedly allowed external operators to access sensitive data stored on the device turning a simple download into a potential surveillance gateway.
According to Techcrunch, Meta is now preparing legal action against the spyware developers to curb further misuse. The company, however, has not disclosed details about the specific individuals targeted or the extent of data compromised.
A Whatsapp spokesperson reiterated that user safety remains the top priority, particularly for those misled into installing the fake iOS application. Meanwhile, reports from La Repubblica suggest the spyware may be linked to “Spyrtacus”, a strain previously associated with Android-based attacks that could intercept calls, activate microphones and even access cameras.
The episode underscores a growing reality in the digital age, the threat is no longer just what you download, but where you download it from. As unofficial apps become increasingly convincing, the line between communication tool and covert surveillance is getting harder to spot and far easier to exploit.
