Overview

NFTs peaked in 2021 to 2022, then fell sharply in trading and price, yet the legal questions they raised did not disappear with the hype. This practical, jargon-free course gives lawyers a clear grounding in what an NFT actually is, what a buyer really owns, how licensing and royalties work, and how the UK, the EU and the UAE treat NFTs, as at September 2026. Four short units, general awareness only.

Learning Objectives

Upon course completion, employees will gain a full and clear understanding of:

• What an NFT actually is: a token that points to a record on a ledger, not the underlying work itself
• The gap between owning an NFT and owning copyright or other intellectual property in the work it points to
• What a typical NFT licence transfers, what it usually withholds, and how smart-contract royalties work in practice
• Why smart-contract royalties are a technical mechanism, not automatically a binding legal entitlement
• How brand and trade mark disputes involving NFTs have played out, and why
• Whether an NFT is property a court can freeze or trace, and the limits of that position
• How the UK, the EU and the UAE approach financial regulation, consumer protection and tax for NFTs
• Where NFTs turn up in ordinary legal work, and the red flags that call for closer questions

Course Contents

Unit 1: What an NFT Actually Is

• The hype cycle, honestly: what happened to NFT trading and prices after 2021 to 2022
• What a non-fungible token actually is, and how minting and marketplaces work
• What a buyer really owns, and why marketing language can mislead
• Osbourne v Persons Unknown & OpenSea: the first English case on NFTs as property

Unit 2: Licensing, Royalties and Brand Disputes

• Why minting an NFT does not, by itself, transfer copyright in the underlying work
• What NFT licences typically transfer, and what they usually withhold
• Smart-contract royalties: a technical mechanism, not an automatic legal entitlement
• The MetaBirkins case and why brand owners now file trade marks for virtual goods

Unit 3: Property, Freezing and Financial Regulation

• Why NFT property status matters: trusts, freezing injunctions and tracing
• When an NFT falls inside financial regulation, and when it does not
• The EU's MiCA exemption for unique, non-fungible assets, and its limits
• The UAE's VARA approach, and how the UK, the EU and the UAE compare

Unit 4: Compliance, Practice and Red Flags

• AML awareness: the Travel Rule principle and NFT transactions
• Consumer protection, and tax at a high level
• Where NFTs turn up: IP disputes, brand enforcement, estates and commercial contracts
• Red flags worth recognising in any NFT-linked matter

Note

This course is general awareness training, not legal advice. Learners should take their own advice on their specific circumstances. Content is current as at September 2026.