The Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts at Columbia Law School presents our 2021 Annual Symposium - "NFTs: Future or Fad?"

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are a point of confusion and controversy in the contemporary art world. Beeple's NFT “Everydays – The First 5000 Days” sold for $69 million at Christie's this March, but many people struggle even to define the term. Lawyers, creators and investors are navigating smart contracts, negotiating additional terms and wondering what the future holds. The Kernochan Center Symposium, "NFTs: Future or Fad?" means to serve as a guide to this growing, creative, and potentially lucrative, market, and will discuss what role copyright can play in protecting these assets. Our first panel provides an overview of NFTs and will look at how current IP law is meeting - and being challenged by - this new avenue of commerce. We also discuss whether NFTs have the staying power to propel long-term legal change. The symposium's second half focuses on the visual arts and will discuss the unique issues NFTs pose for artists and their attorneys.

For more information, including biographies of all participants, please visit https://web.law.columbia.edu/kernochan/events/kernochan-center-symposium-2021