Are Expiring Copyrights the Next Goldmine for NFTs?
Every year, creative works enter the public domain as their copyrights expire. In 2024 alone, works from 1928 became free to use — including early Mickey Mouse cartoons. But here’s the question nobody in the legal world is asking seriously enough: what happens when NFT technology meets the public domain?
Elaine Hu wrote an informative piece on Cointelegraph exploring this exact intersection, and it raises issues I deal with from both sides — as an intellectual property attorney and as someone who has spent 20 years managing copyrights in the music industry.
The Opportunity for Rights Holders
Copyright holders sitting on works approaching expiration have a narrow window. Before the work enters public domain, they can exclusively mint NFTs of the original — capturing provenance, authenticity, and scarcity on-chain. A first-edition digital artifact, verified by the actual rights holder, carries value that a public domain copy never will.
Think of it like this: anyone can print the Mona Lisa. But there’s only one original hanging in the Louvre. NFTs give rights holders the ability to create that “original” in the digital world before their exclusive rights disappear.
For heirs and estates, this could be transformative. Instead of watching revenue dry up at expiration, they mint authenticated collections and continue generating income indefinitely through secondary market royalties built into the smart contract.
The Opportunity for Creators
On the flip side, public domain works are fair game for anyone. Once a copyright expires, creators can freely remix, reimagine, and mint their own NFT collections based on classic works — without licensing fees or permission.
We’ve already seen this with public domain literature, vintage film, and classic art. The creators who move first and build the strongest communities around these works will capture outsized value.
The Legal Complexity
This is where it gets interesting — and where most people need counsel.
Not every element of a work enters public domain simultaneously. A song’s composition might expire while the specific recording remains protected. A character’s original appearance might be free to use while later iterations are still under copyright. Trademark protections can persist indefinitely, adding another layer of complexity.
Minting an NFT of a “public domain” work without understanding these distinctions is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
As someone who holds federal trademarks, a U.S. patent, and numerous copyright registrations — and who has negotiated licensing agreements for two decades in the entertainment industry — I can tell you that the intersection of IP law and blockchain technology is one of the most underserved areas in legal practice today.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re a rights holder looking to monetize before expiration, a creator building on public domain works, or a collector evaluating authenticity — the legal framework matters as much as the technology.
The original Cointelegraph article is worth reading: Are expiring copyrights the next goldmine for NFTs?
If you’re navigating IP questions in the NFT or digital asset space, this is exactly the kind of work I do.
Asaf David Fulks, Esq. is a California attorney specializing in intellectual property, digital assets, and entertainment law. He holds a U.S. patent, federal trademarks, and has 20 years of experience managing copyrights in the music industry. Bar #343622.