Writers, prepare for a fight for your stories because the NFT community may be coming for you.
What is NFTBooks
NFTBooks is an online project focused on publishing books on the blockchain. They can publish various formats, including .pdf, .kdp, plain text, CBR/CBZ, and many more. These books can be accessed on all major digital reading devices and many different types of software.
The Intent Behind NFTBooks
The intent behind NFTBooks is a noble one; they seek to help get books in front of readers, which could be beneficial for a writer. As usual, though, there are always unexpected occurrences when you’re building something new. As of me typing this piece, NFTBooks is in stage 1, but stages 2 and 3 are projected to commence in 2022. Stage 1 consists of:
- Beta Version for NFTBooks Platform
- 30k Community Members
- 60k Holders
- NFTBooks Merch Store
- Starting Certik Auditing Contract
- Marketing Campaign
- Listing Teir 1 CEX
- Solid Partnership
NFTs and the Art Community
Art theft has been running rampant throughout the art community because of the ability to mint a piece of art on the blockchain without an artist’s permission. Some artists are having their work stolen blatantly, while others have their work stolen, edited roughly 10%, and then minted. Not only is this incredibly unethical, but it’s encouraging many artists to shut down their art completely. This isn’t reserved for only small artists either. Large artists such as Liam Sharp From DC Comics have been affected as well and have stopped making art altogether.
Potential for Book Theft
Though stealing a book may be a little more difficult than at-ing tokenized tweets, there is a large possibility that it could be done. People are quite savvy when they want to take advantage of others; there is nothing stopping someone from buying a kindle file of a book for 6.99 USD, resizing a photo of the cover, and pulling the .kdp file from their device to put it on the blockchain. Book theft may not be easy, but it is still very doable, and once someone figures out the long and short of how to do it, they will likely share the information, and before we know it, book theft could be just as rampant as art theft in the NFT world right now.
The 10% Problem for Thiefs
To say a piece of work is yours after you steal it from a creator, you have to change it at a minimum of 10%. Doing this with an already published book, at the moment, doesn’t look easy unless you somehow manage to get a raw file. That being said, nothing is impossible; there are sure to be ways to adjust a written piece just enough to skirt copyright law. If a book thief is minting your work directly, they can immediately be sued for copyright infringement as they’re stating that your book is theirs.
Indie Writers Are Targets
All small self-published writers are at risk for having their books stolen right now. Though there is currently no evidence that this could be happening as I write this piece, we have seen what happened with the art community getting their individual pieces stolen. Once something is on the blockchain, it’s on there forever. There will always be a permanent record of it.
The reason smaller writers could be targeted is that they do not have the big budget they would need to hire a lawyer. This means there is less risk for the person minting and selling your book on the blockchain. They believe that there is little you can do, and for some people, there will be little they can do unless they can find a lawyer to take their case pro bono.
Defending Your Books
One way to defend your books isn’t incredibly appealing because of the fact that minting a piece on the blockchain isn’t terribly environmentally friendly, but one way you can protect your book is by minting it yourself.
Another way to try to protect your book is by placing a disclaimer either at the top of your description in your preferred distribution method. This still may not stop someone from stealing your work, but it will make them second guess if you’re going to be a hassle. Here’s an example:
“Distribution of this manuscript through any means outside of (insert your distribution methods here) is illegal and is done without my consent. Any instance of my work appearing elsewhere will be met with immediate legal action.”
Note: I am not a lawyer; this is just an example of a warning you can place in, on, or near your work.
Many artists use watermarks to protect their work, I am not sure how that could be implemented into digital books, but if possible, that could also be a way to protect your work.
It’s Not Just Books
Journals, magazines, articles, blog posts, and so much more can be minted directly on the blockchain too. This technology is opening up a can of worms that is going to be very hard to shut once the wrong hands inevitably get ahold of it. Book writers aren’t the only individuals that are at risk.
Though there is not a current record of books being stolen, minted, and sold on the blockchain, there is a clear possibility that it could happen. Taking into account the rampant disregard for the work of others plaguing the NFT community makes the possibility of rampant book theft even more likely.