No right to exclusive use of NFT technology, Delhi High Court

Gadgets Now Bureau / Updated: Apr 26, 2023, 05:43PM IST

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No right to exclusive use of NFT technology, Delhi High Court

Hon'ble Justice Amit Bansal of the Delhi High Court made a significant ruling on NFT and Web 3. The judgment dismissed a plea filed by Rario against Striker, a fantasy platform on Web 3, and Mobile Premier League (MPL), a digital gaming platform. The plea sought to prevent Striker from using public information about cricket players.

The Delhi High Court in its order said, “The plaintiffs cannot claim to have an exclusive right over the use of an NFT technology. NFT is a technology that is freely available.” The order added “NFT Player Cards are in fact ‘in-game’ assets to be used for enhancing the experience of playing the Game.” It further said, “There is no difference between online fantasy sports (OFS) with NFT Enabled player cards and ordinary OFS Game in so far as the use of the name or artistic impression/ photograph of a player is concerned.”

Striker collaborates with independent artists who create unique cricket-related artworks based on publicly accessible events and memories. Although the platform mainly runs an inventive fantasy league, it enables users to keep and enhance the players they "purchase" for their fantasy teams across numerous seasons of live cricket matches.

Several prominent cricketers, including Harshal Patel, Shivam Dube, and Umran Malik, who have signed NFT contracts with Rario, joined the company's petition. On the other hand, Striker's petition was supported by the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and Winzo. AIGF argued in its intervention that the inability to use particular player identifiers might impede the growth of smaller firms, placing the Indian gaming industry at a disadvantage compared to other nations.

The order was welcomed by the artist community, which had been working with Striker to showcase their digital art to a larger audience and monetize their work effectively. Najeeb Thottungal, one of the artists, said, “We are grateful to the Delhi High Court for recognising the rights of small independent artists. Creating cricket-themed fan art is a unique and creative way for young and aspiring artists like us to express our love for players and connect with other fans. Today's court ruling not only protects our rights as artists to engage with this emerging medium of NFTs but also empowers us to continue creating and contributing to the conversation surrounding cricket and art."

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