Art and the New Internet: Web3. Fair Use, And Intellectual Property
The adversarial relationship between Intellectual Property (IP) Law and the Internet has persisted since the early days of the "Information Superhighway." From the Church of Scientology suing a Usenet host to Metallica's infamous lawsuit against Napster, and the daily DMCA abuse allegations on Web2 platforms like Youtube and TikTok, it's evident that antiquated and underhanded interpretations of IP law pose a significant threat to the free creation and dissemination of digital content. At Scatter, we are concerned that not enough is being done to address and prepare for these issues, even among the best actors in the industry. While the regulatory challenges from bodies like the SEC dominate the discourse in the blockchain/Web3 space, it's crucial to look ahead and protect against the issues that made Web2 untenable. If we aspire to build a new internet, Web3, we must address these challenges without relying solely on broad regulatory freedom granted to tech companies during the dotcom bubble.
