You've been scammed.
Someone stole your work and made it a non-fungible token without your consent. The same fraudster has listed those NFTs of your plagiarized art for sale, and is taking in the undeserved profits. This is a sad and frequent occurrence. There are fortunately options. However, it's not simple to get your stolen artwork removed on major NFT exchanges like OpenSea or Rarible.
Welcome to the opposite side of the highly-hyped NFT coin where fake artworks and plagiarized art rule the 2021 $44 billion market. The problem is so widespread, in fact, that in January of 2022 the self-described "world's largest and the first NFT marketplace," OpenSea, admitted that more than 80 percent of NFTs that were minted using its no-cost minting tool "were plagiarized work as well as fake collections and spam."
Artists are well-aware of the less glamorous aspect of NFTs. Twitter accounts that expose NFTs of stolen artwork (like @NFTtheft) have thousands of followers and make a point of highlighting this scam.
A Bay Area artist goes by the name "bor" and is the administrator of the @NFTtheft twitter account. They explained that they prefer anonymity because of the harassment directed at artists who oppose non-fungible tokens.
Bor wrote that plagiarism is a recurring issue in the NFT space and will always be a factor. "As long as anyone can mint anything while remaining pseudonymous on an unregulated/decentralized technology, plagiarism is going to be a big problem."
It's an issue that marketplaces where people list, buy and sell NFTs, are well aware of. They are often unable to take the necessary steps to tackle it. OpenSea and Rarible (a competitor to OpenSea) have established processes for those who want to report stolen work. However, as the artists often point out it isn't always simple.
Still, many artists see it as their sole option.
OpenSea How do I report a stolen NFT
Go to the Help Center.
Under the "How can we help?" Drop-down menu, select "Intellectual Property Rights Takedown/Violation Request."
Enter your email address.
In the subject line In the subject line, type "fraudulent content."
In the "Description" section In the "Description" section, give as much detail as you can to demonstrate that an OpenSea listing is simply your work that you've posted without permission (include hyperlinks). Define the images you've included (see Step 6).
Include screenshots under "Attachments" of both where your art is actually located online (presumably someone copied it before posting it on OpenSea). Also include the NFT listings.
Hit "Submit."
OpenSea can't guarantee any results or that the company will be back with you.
"When you submit a complaint, as a next step our team will go through the collection to determine if it is in violation of our Terms of Service and will remove the item if it is found to be in violation," explains the company's Help Center. Your ticket will be closed once it has been resolved. It is possible that you will not receive any response from us.
How to report a stolen NFT via Rarible
Similar to OpenSea, Rarible has a process that allows users to submit reports of stolen artwork that is listed on its marketplace as NFTs for sale. To report stolen artwork in the form of NFTs on Rarible:
Once you have located the NFT you are looking for, click the three dots in the upper-right corner.
Select the "Report" option.
Write down that the work is stolen and provide as much detail as you can to back up your claim.
Click "Report".
Rarible can't guarantee that it will delist the NFT. Rarible doesn't even guarantee it will get back to you - making the frustration of artists all too understandable.
How do you stop plagiarized NFTs from being plagiarized?
Despite the fact that artists can report stolen NFTs directly to the marketplaces that sell them, the problem of thieves profiting from the work of illustrators, designers and musicians as well as other creators isn't being solved. According to the artist behind @NFTtheft's Twitter account, the issue is systemic and requires an overall solution.
"Scammers are stealing content from YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Deviant Art, Artstation and even Minecraft fan forums," wrote bor. "If it is possible to download it, scammers will attempt to steal it. Artists have less control than ever before over their work.
In fact, a quick glance at Twitter shows scores of shocked artists claiming that someone has gotten their work and, without knowing, printed and sold it as NFTs.
So what other steps other than notifying NFTs plagiarized, could people who are unaware of this sometimes fraudulent ecosystem take? If bor is right, non-fungible token true believers won't like the answer.
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