US agencies do not consider new regulations on NFTs necessary, arguing that current legislation is adequate. The European Parliament approved the Regulation for AI and will now go to committees for approval and 24 months later it will come into force.
The recent joint study by the Copyright Office and the US Patent and Trademark Office has concluded that the current legal framework adequately addresses the complex area of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Initiated at the request of Congress, the study aimed to examine the intersection of NFTs with existing intellectual property (IP) laws.
Following extensive research, including public roundtables and case law analysis, it was concluded that there is no need for new rules in the area of NFTs. Shira Perlmutter, Director of the United States Copyright Office, explained the following:
“The report reflects numerous contributions from a broad spectrum of participants, including creators, brand owners, innovators, academics and practitioners. “We look forward to continuing to collaborate with stakeholders interested in new technologies and their implications for intellectual property rights.”
This fundamental conclusion comes against a backdrop of significant revival in NFT trading volumes. After a period of decline, the market is experiencing an upward trend, indicating a possible rebound of the NFT market.
It remains to be seen whether this resurgence can return to the heights of the 2021-22 bull run, which saw trading volumes soar. At the time of writing, NFT trading volume is still 75% below its peak.
European Parliament Approves Law to Regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The European Parliament approved a regulation for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the European Union, prior to its formal adoption throughout Europe. The bill was introduced since April 2021 and had been under discussion since then.
The European Parliament emphasized that the regulation was approved by 523 votes, 46 against and 49 abstentions. The law sets obligations for AI based on its potential risks, advocates for human rights, rule of law and sustainability.
The regulation prohibits the use of AI to violate human rights, through biometric categorization, capturing photos on the Internet or camera recordings. In addition, it prohibits the recognition of emotions in offices and schools, prohibits citizen scoring systems and “predictive” policing or the exploitation of vulnerabilities in people. It prohibits biometric identification, except in very well-defined situations, such as the search for missing people or in a terrorist attack. Additionally, AI must keep records of its use, be transparent and accurate, through human supervision.
People will be able to file complaints about AI and will have the right to receive explanations. Meanwhile, AI on the continent will have to respect EU copyright rules and publish detailed summaries of the content used to train its models. Not only that, AIs could meet “additional requirements” in the event of a systemic risk.
The co-rapporteur of the Civil Liberties commission, Dragos Tudorache, argued that the EU “delivers results” and that there is much more work to do, in addition to the AI Law.
The Regulation for AI in the EU will be subject to a final lawyer-linguist verification, pending its final approval, that is, the law will still have to be approved by the Council. It will come into force 20 days after its publication in the official Journal and will be fully implemented in the EU 24 months later.
By Leonardo Perez
