Magic: The Gathering forced to explain copyright law to unofficial NFT project

Magic: The Gathering publisher Wizards of the Coast has been put on high alert after the launch of a new NFT project, which is looking to create its own format based on real Magic cards.

Only, they’re completely unofficial, and it's led the publisher to send an official cease-and-desist letter.

The company behind the collectable card game says that the new NFT project called 'mtgDAO' is clearly violating its trademarks and copyrights. Not only that, but Wizards of the Coast also says that it has its own NFT project in development [via Vice].

The mtgDAO project previously laid out its intentions in a white paper, saying that Magic: The Gathering is "a great game that invites you to invest in its economy.”

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However, it also says: “We are not creating NFTs licensed by WotC, only adding an additional layer of scarcity to be able to play Wizard’s cards in a new format.”

How to Play Magic: The GatheringMagic: The Gathering

It adds: “In the long run, I think there’s a chance we can just buy the Magic brand from Wizards of the Coast. mtgDAO could be the next evolution of what this game and this community is and how it is operated and controlled.”

Quite how they thought Wizards of the Coast would be cool with that, we’re not quite sure.

Since then, Wizards of the Coast sent mtgDAO a cease-and-desist letter on February 10th which read: “You appear to be operating under the mistaken assumption that the project would be legal because you would allow the reproduction of MAGIC cards in the form of NFTs only by a player who had purchased a physical card...

“This is not correct…on behalf of Wizards of the Coast, we therefore ask that you refrain from implementing your idea for a mtgDAO community that relies on the unlawful reproduction and use of Wizards’ IP.”

It’s not the first time suspect dealings in the NFT world have cropped up in the news, and we imagine it won’t be the last.

It comes after a group spent $3 million buying a copy of a book about Alejandro Jodorowsky’s attempt to make Dune, believing that it gave them the rights.

However, the book itself, called Jodorowsky’s Dune, is already available for free online with pictures of the artwork being relatively easy to find through a simple Google search.

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