Will taking screenshots of NFT affect the digital art?

A paradigm shift in the art field was brought about by the development of NFTs. Since these digital works of art first appeared in 2021, their prices have skyrocketed, with some of the most sought-after NFTs fetching millions of dollars.

NFTs are also known to start “gas wars”, where buyers compete with each other by raising more money to buy a particular piece of art. In such circumstances, the cost of gas alone can be hundreds of dollars.

Example of a possible NFT screen:

Beeple: Everydays-First 5000 Days, the most expensive NFT in the world, is available online. One can undoubtedly give away a screenshot of the same as the original by taking it.

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Actually not at all. There are a number of reasons why you can’t. First, it is against the law to take a screenshot of an NFT and claim it as your own. Making a physical copy or posting it online are both prohibited acts. If you do, you could be charged with crimes or sued for copyright infringement.

A screenshot differs from the original NFT in several ways:

Imagine photographing each painting at an art exhibition. Are the pictures you took now suddenly valuable if the value of those paintings goes up tomorrow? Not at all, no. An NFT works in a similar way. A screenshot is worthless, much like a photograph of a work of art.

“Owning a work by Leonardo da Vinci is not quite the same as photographing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. When it comes to NFTs for digital art, the same idea can be applied. Taking a screenshot of an NFT does not give you ownership of the resulting artwork” According to Zach, the creator of Mintable, in his blog.

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However, it is also very easy to screenshot an NFT. Just search for NFT online and with a single click you have a copy saved on your phone. Furthermore, it is an exact copy of the original, unlike a painted reproduction which may contain some errors.

Will this endanger the original artwork and its author? Although prohibited, dishonest individuals may still attempt to sell these screenshots to unwary customers to make thousands of dollars. So screenshots can put the entire NFT sector at risk. Okay, I’ll say it again: not really. Screenshots are not the Thanos of the NFT world.

The NFT sector has no problems with screenshots. This is why:

Screenshots are often used. We all have screenshots of the Louboutin shoes, Patek Philippe watches and lavish Lamborghinis we wish we could afford. But does that diminish the value of the genuine article? Not at all, no! Every sector has its share of fake products, and NFTs are no exception. On the internet, you can find a fake Everydays NFT that is identical to the real one. However, it will not be as valuable as the genuine article.

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This is so that NFTs can act as a proof of authenticity and proof of ownership. Every time an NFT is generated, information about its creator and owner is recorded on the blockchain and made publicly available. The blockchain is updated every time an NFT is traded with information about the new owner. As a result, an original Everydays NFT can be linked to its inventor, Beeple, and will also provide the NFT’s ownership history up to the current owner.

However, an NFT of a screenshot can only be linked to the fraudster who created it. And while it is easy to reproduce the artwork, it is impossible to copy the NFT technology, which determines whether the work is original or not.

Can it be more than just digital artwork

Consider the NFTs for the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). You get access to the BAYC Discord server and store when you purchase these digital artworks. In addition, the BAYC team will give you early access to future collections.

Also read: NFT Avatars: Why Are NFT Avatars So Popular and What to Expect in 2023

Or consider the NFTs from VeeFriends. You can also access VeeCon through these digital artworks, which is a business conference and workshop led by serial entrepreneur and well-known internet personality Gary Vaynerchuck. Owners of some of the more unusual NFTs in this collection are also entitled to private consultations and mentoring sessions with Vaynerchuck. Owners can use these meetings to develop business concepts, get Vaynerchuck’s opinion on their initiatives, or just chat.

With a screenshot or an NFT of a screenshot, the same cannot be claimed. Therefore, the only threat that screenshots present to the NFT market is the possibility that unwary customers will fall for fraudsters who try to pass off these copies as the genuine article. Checking the metadata of the NFT with a block explorer like Etherscan.io is a simple approach to avoid this. This will help determine the NFT’s creation date, location, the codec used to encode it, the name of the character, its rarity, and its owner.