The Future of Digital Art Ownership
Hello and welcome! If you are one of the first few folks who joined my newsletter, I appreciate your support as I first get things moving here. I was admittedly supposed to start writing these sooner, slowly building up a core community around it to talk about stories behind images, how they’re captured, and other goodies. The good news: this was for a great reason! I have been flat-out like lizard drinking while moving to California with my spouse, Ya’el. We have moved into a nice little spot near San Jose, where she is pursuing a few years of research at Stanford and I am eager to explore the area, meet with artists, gallery owners, print labs and business owners. There are a lot of unknowns moving forward, but ain’t that the spice of life?
For today I have been thinking about the future of digital photography & art. Namely, in terms of ownership, verification, licensing, and fraud management.
Here I’m sharing some of my thoughts about where things seem to be headed, ways to secure legitimacy, and huge vulnerabilities that still exist in the space.
First, some background before I dive in. You might have heard of this thing called a Blockchain. Non Fungible Tokens. Crypto, tech, 1’s and 0’s, blah blah it’s all so much. I get it! Artists and buyers ideally shouldn’t have to worry about any of this stuff.
Yet, we find ourselves in a situation where our legal systems are not keeping up with the rapid advancements in the digital space, so unfortunately the onus falls on the individual to proactively seek out ways to protect their online work.
Blockchain: this is a digital, decentralized infrastructure that permanently embeds transactions and other information in a digital asset that is ‘minted’ into the chain. This means that it is not controlled by a government, or any company, and permanently + verifiably ties your identity to any digital asset you buy (this is what Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin function on!)
NFT: Non-Fungible Token. These are certain types of assets that exist on a blockchain, usually in the form of an image, artwork, video, etc.
Okay, that’s all you need to get into it. Here we go!
1. The Problem: Digital Work Is Easily Stolen
Artists and photographers regularly share high-quality work online without blockchain protection. It can be scalped by bots and resold as prints, shirts, tapestries etc. with often zero recourse for the artist.
Bad actors can download this work and mint it as NFTs, establishing false ownership simply by being the first to mint.
Current blockchain systems don’t validate authorship - they only record transactions, not origin stories.
2. NFTs Don’t Guarantee Legitimacy—Yet
Ownership on-chain is about who minted first, not who created.
Without trusted metadata or verification, the blockchain can just as easily empower fraud as it can protect rights.
Marketplaces often lack the infrastructure to vet art authenticity, and there’s no unified authority to adjudicate disputes; for the many benefits of decentralized systems, fraud measures are a gaping vulnerability.
3. Promising Solutions Are Emerging
Adobe Content Credentials embed creator identity, timestamps, and edit history directly into image files.
AI watermarking can invisibly embed ownership even across screenshots or reposts. (I think this is key!!)
NFT metadata can store and prove ownership history irrefutably - if the right person mints it. Therein lies the dire solution; how to prove the first person is the true owner.
These tools, used together, create a multi-layered verification system.
4. The Real Risk: Fraudsters Using These Tools First
If a malicious actor mints stolen art and embeds metadata/watermarks first, they can appear legitimate.
The true creator, if absent from Web3 / the blockchain world, may struggle to reclaim recognition or control if they ever intend on establishing ownership of digital works. (Of course, if you intend to only ever market physical pieces you don’t need to worry)
Until standards catch up, first mover advantage on the blockchain can undermine actual ownership.
5. What Needs to Happen Next
Standardization: Platforms must integrate metadata systems (Adobe, CAI, watermarking) into NFT creation and sales.
Verification Layers: Marketplaces need to offer creator badges and reputation scores based on proof of authorship.
Legal Recognition: Copyright law must begin recognizing authenticated blockchain metadata as admissible evidence of ownership.
Proactive Creator Tools: Artists should start embedding credentials and watermarking their digital works before sharing them publicly.
6. Final Thoughts
I have never published on or been too interested in blockchain stuff. But, I can see that much of my industry now relies on digital sharing.
Artists, Photographers, Creators may need to be proactive in adding the layered protections available when posting new, high definition content online.
What do you think? How would you protect against fraud in the digital world?
Do you think digital artwork might evolve in another direction entirely?
Feel free to share any thoughts with me. I’d love to chat!
-Murph
