Weekly Spotlight: The Thin Line between Copyright Violations and NFTs— Rizki Ahmads
It’s no news that NFTs are blowing up and gaining widespread adoption. With so many players wanting to get in on the action and many trying to replicate the blueprints of predecessors, the question is, how do you stay clear of copyright issues? Rizki Ahmads is rather passionate about this topic and he shares his personal thoughts and opinions on copyright infringements as it relates to the creativity behind NFTs.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi! I am Rizki Ahmad Subagja from Indonesia. I’ve been working in Design and Visualization Industries for over 9 years as a Freelance 3D Artist and Photographer — certified by Adobe for Visual Communication Design in 2013.
I am really passionate about CG Visualization, Photography & Filmmaking and I’m currently living my best life creating artworks and minting them as NFTs.
What is that one NFT project you’re most proud of?
I’d say my proudest work would be projects where I used Unreal Engine such as NFTb City and NFTb Discovery. I consider them as excellent pieces because it is very challenging doing 3D Artwork with Realtime Engine. It involves a lot of tweaking and the best part is I can render the final work within seconds! I really love the feature of Realtime Engine. It’s the Future!
What’s your take on copyright violations and NFTs?
Copyright violations in NFTs are really something we need to take care about. So many NFT projects are violating Intelectual Property and Copyrights. I always say that people who are most guilty of these violations are the money grabbers who just want to make quick money with NFTs. Why? because it’s easy to create artworks with something that already exists. For example: Doing NFTs with Copyright Characters.
I think most artists that violate Copyrights are Beginners who create art because they want to make money from NFTs but they simply do not know anything about art or how to create art. I believe we all have a part to play in sharing knowledge about Copyright rules, in order to preserve the future and integrity of the NFT Community.
What should artists be mindful of to be sure they don’t violate or infringe on any copyrights?
It’s really simple, just stay away from Copyright Stuff. You can imagine if your artwork was used by someone and they are generating money from it without your consent. How do you feel?
If you need to create something and have no other option but to use copyrighted stuff, make sure you request permission from the owner or use stuff covered by the “Fair Use Act”. Fair Use Promotes Freedom of Expression such as Criticism, Parody or Research. You can read more about it from “The Copyright Act in Section 107”: https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107
I don’t recommend Fair Use but you can learn something about it.
How do you find inspiration when you’re mentally blocked design wise?
I like watching Movies or Anime. If I feel burnt out, I just go outside and hangout with friends.
What’s the story behind the Cool Kongz collection?
Basically, it is just inspired by BAYC but I wanted to create it in 3D and I was curious to see what I could do with the Realism Part. Cool Kongz is a Limited Collection and Part of Cool Characters Series — the main Project.
When should we expect your next drop?
This week.
What piece of advise do you have to share with fellow NFT artists out there?
Learn something everyday. Try making artwork that you have never thought about before. It’s always fun!
Cool Kongz is exclusively available on NFTb.
Stay connected with Rizki Ahmads on — Twitter | Instagram | NFTb Profile
