Damien Hirst who owns several trademarks worldwide including ‘his name’, ‘Spot Paintings’ and ‘Spin Paintings’, shook up the art world with his groundbreaking project, ‘The Currency’, which explored the intersection of digital and physical art.
This experimental venture offered collectors 10,000 NFTs representing unique pieces of Hirst’s artwork, each depicting a series of numbered dots. Buyers faced a thought-provoking choice: keep the digital NFT or exchange it for a corresponding physical painting.
The result may surprise you.
Of the 10,000 NFTs available, around 5,000 were sold, but only 4,000 buyers opted to redeem their NFTs for physical artworks. The remaining chose to keep their digital tokens, underscoring the growing value of digital assets and the evolving preferences of collectors. This project not only highlighted the immense potential of NFTs but also revealed a clear tension between the digital and physical art markets.
Hirst’s experiment raises important questions:
How do creators protect their intellectual property as they navigate these two worlds?
And how do buyers perceive the value of digital assets versus traditional artworks?
Our Thoughts
Hirst’s project reflects the challenges and opportunities that come with the convergence of digital and physical art markets. For artists and businesses, protecting intellectual property is crucial when moving between these realms. Filing a UK trademark application is a vital step to safeguarding your rights in this evolving space, whether you’re focusing on physical works, digital assets, or both.
The digital nature of NFTs also gives them global reach, making broader protections essential. Pursuing EU trademark registration or international trademark registration used to be less common than it is now due to globalisation as it is becoming essential to ensure your intellectual property is secure across multiple trademark registers worldwide. The increasing demand for digital assets will only add to the increased demand for global registrations.
Monitoring your trademarks is equally important to track potential infringements in the fast-paced NFT market. Our Trademark Monitoring and Representation services can help you stay ahead of risks.
Thinking about NFTs for your brand or artwork?
Want to learn affordable ways to protect your brand in a global market?
Contact us today for expert advice on trademark applications, monitoring services, and protecting your digital assets.
