Can Copyright be Tokenized?

Abstract

Blockchain offers an abundance of new opportunities for the art industry. Blockchain-based equity crowdfunding, as one such opportunity, could potentially allow the tokenization of copyright in future artistic projects. Such ‘copyright tokens’ could be sold via crowdfunding platforms to investors in order to attract funding for the artistic project at stake. Although the business model behind Blockchain-based equity crowdfunding is an interesting one indeed, it presents a number of legal issues. This article explores the various means by which such a tokenization scheme could be achieved from the perspective of current Australian copyright laws, to conclude that there are no straightforward solutions to what is a thus far unexplored application of copyright law.