key takeaways
- OpenSea has taken down several Ethereum name service domains after receiving trademark complaints from the RIAA.
- The domain name in question refers to various major recording companies as well as individual executives.
- Yesterday, OpenSea announced that it would be cutting 20% of its workforce due to poor market conditions.
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NFT marketplace OpenSea received trademark complaints from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today and removed several objectionable tokens in response.
OpenC Delists Violates NFTs
It’s been a tough week for OpenSea.
A letter from the RIAA claims that there are several Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain names in the OpenSea marketplace that refer to the Recording Association and its members. OpenSea has now removed the offending ENS domain names from its non-fungible token market.
The RIAA stated that the sale of the offending domain constitutes “dilution, confusion and/or stigma” of the trademark. It states that selling such domains violates cybersquatting laws, common law rights of publicity and unfair trade practices.
The letter lists 89 domain names referring to Universal Music Group, Atlantic Records, Capitol Records, Warner Music Group, Parlophone Records and Virgin Records.
Many other domain names refer to individual music authorities. Those domains refer to Sony Music Entertainment CEO Rob String, Columbia Records CEO Ron Perry, Alamo Records CEO Todd Moschitz, and UMG CEO Lucian Grainge.
One person named in the letter was RIAA President Mitch Glazier. In March, Glazier addressed the trademark issue in the NFT industry. He said the RIAA was taking action against NFT platform Hitpeace for infringing on its rights.
OpenSea prepares for recession
Today’s news comes shortly after OpenSea announced that It will lay off 20% of its workforce in response to market conditions.
OpenSea CEO and co-founder Devin Finzer wrote on July 14 that the “unprecedented combination of crypto winter and broader macroeconomic volatility” means OpenSea needs to be prepared for a potentially “prolonged recession”. .
Overall, crypto market conditions have caused the value of the NFT market to drop dramatically this summer.
The RIAA’s complaints aren’t likely to hurt OpenSea significantly on their own, compared to the huge market drop. Nevertheless, the possibility of legal action and the obligation to liquidate the token could impact trading volumes to some extent.
This isn’t the first time OpenSea has delisted the items. It removed the ENS domain previously referring to fashion designer Calvin Klein, and it also removed a collection called Not OK Bears, which copied another NXT line called OK Bears.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this article owns BTC, ETH and other cryptocurrencies.