OpenSea Faces RIAA Complaints Over ENS Domains
Table of contents
OpenSea Delists NFTs
This week has been difficult for the NFT marketplace OpenSea. The RIAA claims in a letter that numerous Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domains on OpenSea's marketplace contain names that reference the recording association and its members. The infringing ENS domain names have been removed from OpenSea's non-fungible token marketplace.
According to the RIAA, selling the infringing domain names results in the "dilution, confusion, and tarnishment" of trademarks. Additionally, selling such terms is against the law for cybersquatting, common law publicity rights, and unfair business practices. Along with Universal Music Group, Atlantic Records, Capitol Records, Warner Music Group, Parlophone Records, and Virgin Records, the letter lists 89 domain names.
OpenSea Gets Ready For A Slump
Today's news was released immediately after OpenSea declared it would reduce its employment by 20% due to market constraints. Devin Finzer, the CEO and co-founder of OpenSea, stated in a blog post on July 14 that the company needs to get ready for a potential "prolonged downturn" due to the "historic mix of crypto winter and larger macroeconomic uncertainty."
The NFT value marking has decreased significantly this summer as a result of the overall state of the crypto market. The RIAA's accusations are unlikely to cause OpenSea any harm on their own, given the severe market decline. Nevertheless, the threat of legal action and the requirement to delist tokens will probably impact trade volumes.
The removal of items from the OpenSea marketplace is not new. Before that, it delisted Calvin Klein-related ENS domains. Additionally, it delisted a line of clothing called Not Okay Bears that copied Okay Bears from another NFT line.