Navigating the Legal Landscape: An Analysis of NFTs Under Armenian Law

Authors

  • Tatevik Davtyan Yerevan State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46991/BYSU:C/2023.14.1.034

Keywords:

Non-Fungible Tokens, NFTs, Digital assets, Blockchain, Tokenization, Ownership, Intellectual Property

Abstract

This article discusses the legal nature and features of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The legislation of the Republic of Armenia does not regulate relations with irreplaceable marks. This article presents the legal status of NFTs and their possible place among the objects of civil rights defined by Article 132 of the RA Civil Code. The process of tokenization and its connection with the right of ownership is analyzed. The norms of intellectual property legislation are analyzed, and it is concluded that the buyer of NFTs representing an object of intellectual property does not automatically acquire intellectual property rights to the object: these rights can be transferred to the buyer of NFTs through smart contracts or traditional legal instruments. The possibility of implementing smart contracts in Armenia is analyzed in the absence of special regulations for smart contracts.

Author Biography

Tatevik Davtyan, Yerevan State University

Candidate of Law, Associate Professor of the Chair of Civil Law YSU, Vice President, Legal and Compliance, «One Planet Group» 

References

See Andy Ramos, “The metaverse, NFTs and IP rights: to regulate or not to regulate?”, WIPO Magazine, June 2022, [https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2022/02/article_0002.html]

e.g., D. Chalmers, C. Fisch, R. Matthews, W. Quinn, and J. Recker, “Beyond the bubble: Will NFTs and digital proof of ownership empower creative industry entrepreneurs?” Journal of Business Venturing Insights 17 (2022), [ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2022.e00309]; K. Houser, and J. T. Holden

“Navigating the Non-Fungible Token” (2022), [https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=4055535]; Q. Wang, R. Li, Q. Wang, and S. Chen, “Non-Fungible Token (NFT): Overview, Evaluation, Opportunities and Challenges,” (2021), [ http://arxiv.org/abs/2105.07447]

For various applications of NFTs and how they are reshaping the future of digital assets see, e.g.

Rehman, W.; e Zainab, H.; Imran, J.; Bawany, N.Z. NFTs: Applications and challenges. In Proceedings of the 2021 22nd International Arab Conference on Information Technology (ACIT), Muscat, Oman, 2021

Shilina, Sasha. “A comprehensive study on Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Use cases, ecosystem, benefits & challenges.” (2022), 10.13140/RG.2.2.15324.67206; White Paper. Report from INTA Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), April 2023

Draft law on "Development of Digital Technologies”, Պ-253-05.02.2018-ՖՎ-011/0, [http://www.parliament.am/drafts.php?sel=showdraft&DraftID=9504&Reading=0&fbclid=IwAR07Ok_a0yB1ENjT41jf2tZfXSKCsf5BcrHUq2OwHThtarK3sPvTPA9sbQQ]

Draft law on "Digital Financial Assets", Պ-224-12.07.2019-ՖՎ-011/0, [http://www.parliament.am/drafts.php?sel=showdraft&DraftID=10671&Reading=0.]

Danielle D’Onfro, The New Bailments, 97 Wash. L. Rev. 97 (2022) [https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol97/iss1/6]

Moringiello, Juliet M. and Odinet, Christopher K., The Property Law of Tokens (November 1, 2021), 74 Florida Law Review 607 (2022), U Iowa Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2021-44, Widener Law Commonwealth Research Paper, SSRN: [https://ssrn.com/abstract=3928901]; Heines, R., C. Dick, C. Pohle and R. Jung (2021): "The Tokenization of Everything: Towards a Framework for Understanding the Potentials of Tokenized Assets" (2021), PACIS 2021 Proceedings, 40. [https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2021/40]

B. Baker, A. Pizzo, and Y. Su, “Non-Fungible Tokens: A Research Primer and Implications for Sport Management,” Sports Innovation Journal 3, 1–15 (2022), [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357900561_NFTs_Applications_and_Challenges]

Moringiello, Juliet M. and Odinet, Christopher K., supra note 9, at 624

B. Baker, A. Pizzo, and Y. Su, supra note 11, at 3

Moringiello, Juliet M. and Odinet, Christopher K, supra note 9, at 612

Ahmad, Xiaodi, and Jayaraman, “Understanding Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Overview, Opportunities, and Challenges”, The 49th Annual Northeast Business & Economics Association Conference, New Hampshire, 2022; at 1

Andres Guadamuz, “Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and copyright” WIPO Magazine, December 2021, [https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2021/04/article_0007.html]

Ahmad, Xiaodi, and Jayaraman, Id. at 1

Sitnik A. A. “NFT as an object of legal regulation” // Actual problems of Russian law. - 2022. - V. 17. - No. 12. P. 84–93. - DOI: 10.17803/1994–1471.2022.145.12.084–093. [Cитник А. А. NFT как объект правового регулирования // Актуальные проблемы российского права. 2022. Т. 17. № 12. С. 84–93. DOI: 10.17803/1994-1471.2022.145.12.084-093]

See Ziwei Wang, Jiashi Gao, Xuetao Wei, “Do NFTs' Owners Really Possess their Assets? A First Look at the NFT-to-Asset Connection Fragility”, December 2022, DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2212.11181

Brisov, Yu. V., Pobedkin, A. A. (2022). “Legal regime of NFT (non-fungible token) in Russia: how to work in the absence of special legislative regulation?” Digital Law, 3(1), 44–66, at 51 [https://doi.org/10.38044/2686-9136-2022-3-1-44-66]. [Брисов, Ю. В., Победкин, А. А. (2022). Правовой режим NFT (non-fungible token) в России: как работать в отсутствие специального законодательного регулирования? Цифровое право, 3(1)

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Published

2023-09-04

How to Cite

Davtyan, T. (2023). Navigating the Legal Landscape: An Analysis of NFTs Under Armenian Law. Bulletin of Yerevan University C: Jurisprudence, 14(1 (38), 34–52. https://doi.org/10.46991/BYSU:C/2023.14.1.034

Issue

Section

Civil Law