friday_fortnightly_week_14_ed._9.pdf
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… digital cartels The Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) recently announced that it could in the near future apply antitrust laws to digital cartels that use algorithms and the artificial intelligence-based (AI) technology to distort competition in online markets. On 31 March 2021, the JFTC officially released the Report on Algorithms/AI and Competition Policy. The Report, prepared by the Study Group on Competition Policy in Digital Markets, addresses the role of algorithms and AI in digital … 3 of 6 2.2 Christie’s sells Beeple’s digital artwork for record price On March 11th, 2021, Mike Winkelmann, known for his digital art under pen name ‘Beeple’, sold a JPG-file collage called ‘Everydays - The First 5000 Days’ for $69.3 million in an online auction organized by Christie’s. This is record price for an artwork of this kind, and notably surpasses the selling price of many a celebrated painting sold by Christie’s. Artworks, such as Everydays, are non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are … world of digital art. As with the blockchain technology in general, many aspects of NFT remain unregulated. As an example, purchase of such digital pieces of art does not necessarily transfer copyright ownership. It is quite a sweet irony that when a buyer purchases an NFT-stamped artwork, what s/he essentially gets is the unique digital version of the work and not the asset itself. This, in turn, has implications for determination of infringement in such artworks. Sources: JD Supra, 1 April 2021, …