Ever since the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) gained International attention last year, the world-leading NFTs trading platform, OpenSea has overtly battled fake NFTs. There have been numerous cases where artists encounter a listing of their works by another artist laying claim to it.
The regular occurrence of plagiarism of several artworks has been to the detriment of Artists, Buyers, OpenSea, and the NFT industry at large. These phony collections have deprived buyers of getting what they want, and the credibility of OpenSea. While Artists are being denied proper recognition as creators of the work.
There are numerous ways in which fraudulent individuals can plagiarize content and sell it on OpenSea. A notable source of fake NFTs is how bots invade artists’ collections online, or randomly search for pictures on Google. These bots then create their plagiarized collection using auto text, then list them for sales. Unfortunately, these collections have increased by a large number on OpenSea, leaving artists fuming. Also, leaving Investors with the reluctance of investing more in the industry.
An Wanted Role OpenSea Played regarding the Menace
However, for a mischievous reason, OpenSea is now open to the incessant raid of these fraudsters and bots. They regularly target the platform to carry out their fraudulent activities banking on the popularity of the platform. This popularity has made it very easy for them to easily get buyers for their stolen works before anyone could notice. To some extent, this bastardized act is militating against the popularity and embracement of NFTs.
Unconsciously, the platform has contributed more to these illegal activities of listing Fake NFTs. OpenSea permits users to put up NFTs for sale without recording them on the blockchain. The platform’s soft approach toward transaction fees is also another way it has contributed to such acts. On the platform, Sellers don’t pay transaction fees until they sell off their work. Unfortunately, it has permitted fraudsters to put fake NFTs up for sale as much as they want. These two factors have massively contributed to the smooth running of the plagiarized NFTs syndicate on OpenSea.
Furthermore, OpenSea’s perceived hesitancy and lack of swift response to Artist calls regarding fake NFTs is also another factor. Overtly, Artwork creators often complain of not getting a swift response from OpenSea whenever they object to fake NFTs. This sluggishness hasn’t helped creators to hijack dubious dealings on OpenSea, thus, leaving plagiarism to grow.
Recently, OpenSea released a guideline to tackle the issue of plagiarism, Copymint, and fake NFTs on its platform. According to the statement, the team emphasized its efforts toward ensuring the protection of artists and Buyers against plagiarism. The OpenSea team conceded that if the pressing issue isn’t well attended to, it’ll deter the growth of the industry.
How OpenSea is bracing up against Fake NFTs
The statement revealed that the upgrade comes in two dimensions that include updating accounts and the deployment of a special feature that’ll help detect fake NFTs. OpenSea revealed that this development comes with acceptance from its community to protect the industry.
Firstly, to tackle the incessant complaints about the slow response to customers’ inquiries, the team set up a special unit to aid in a fast response. With that, customers get responses to takedown fake NFTs and Plagiarized content within Seven Days. This also comes with the promise to further step up the verification process of accounts before they list collections. This process includes inviting accounts with over 100 ETH of collection for verification.
The recent upgrade also included an image recognition mechanism that will employ special technology to scan contents on OpenSea. Additionally, it also comes with Human reviews, this particular aspect will set up teams that will investigate removal requests. The team is expected to verify and review removal recommendations by artists. This will finally bridge the gap between OpenSea and Artists regarding the removal of plagiarized content.
Through this, the platform will be free from housing copymints and prevent the emergence of new ones. However, they have commenced operations in removing every identified copymints collection. This process will manifest in some weeks’ time. The proposal further emphasize OpenSea’s commitment towards protecting artists and their contents. Lastly, the effectiveness of this upgrade will be determined by how well it can curb fake NFTs on the platform.
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