Does Selling an NFT Mean Selling the Underlying Work?
“I sold the NFT. Isn’t the work mine anymore?” “I bought the NFT. Have all rights to the work passed to me?”
⏱️ Reading time: 9 min · 📁 Category: NFT Law, Digital Copyright, Intellectual Property
🧾 Does selling an NFT mean selling the underlying work? (2026)
“I sold the NFT. Isn’t the work mine anymore?”
“I bought the NFT. Have all rights to the work passed to me?”
As of 2026, a major legal misunderstanding in NFT (Non-Fungible Token) transactions is this:
The sale of the NFT is thought to be the same as the sale of the work.
The sale of the NFT does not, as a rule, mean the sale of the work.
An NFT transfer transfers ownership of the token, not copyright. 1️⃣ What does an NFT sale transfer?
The NFT sale technically refers to:
- Change of ownership record of token on blockchain
- The token-linked metadata reference passes to the new wallet
- Transfer of contractual rights if available
But here's what's transferred:
the digital token, not the work itself.
Most NFTs:
- Do not store the work itself on the blockchain
- Contains a URL or hash reference to the work only
- It points to the off-chain storage system (IPFS, etc.)
An NFT transfer is therefore technically the transfer of a blockchain asset.
2️⃣ What does selling a work mean legally?The sale of a work can be assessed on two different levels:
📦 a) Sale of a physical copy
Transfer of a physical copy of the work, as with a painting.
Even in this case, copyright does not automatically pass.
The economic rights in the work (reproduction, distribution, communication to the public, adaptation, etc.)
are transferred through an explicit written agreement.
Copyright transfer requires an explicit written agreement. 3️⃣ What does an NFT buyer acquire?
An NFT buyer generally acquires:
- Token's blockchain ownership
- The right to resell Token
- Limited license rights if available
However, the following rights are not acquired automatically:
- Reproducing the work commercially
- Turning the work into a commercial product
- Using the work in an advertising campaign
- Selling the work on another platform
When a painting is purchased in the physical world:
- The painting itself, a physical object, is transferred
- but the copyright remains with the artist
In NFT:
- What is transferred is not the physical work,
- but the blockchain record
An NFT sale therefore transfers even less than selling a physical painting.
5️⃣ Can the NFT Sale and Copyright Transfer Be Done at the Same Time?Yes, it is possible. However, under the following conditions:
- Copyright transfer must be clearly stated
- List each transferred right individually
- Must have written contract
- Time and geographical scope should be clear
Writing “full rights transfer” in a smart contract is not sufficient on its own;
the requirements of conventional law must also be met.
- ❌ To think that the person receiving NFT owns the work
- ❌ Presuming that the NFT seller has given up all rights
- ❌ Making commercial use without reading the license text
- ❌ Not setting the law to be applied in international NFT sales
If a brand buys an NFT and uses the image in the following ways:
- In an advertising campaign
- On product packaging
- To produce a commercial collection
and if license coverage does not allow it,
There is a risk of copyright infringement.
This distinction is critical legal risk, especially for brands.
Result: NFT Sales = Token Transfer
Sales of NFT:
- Transfers ownership of the token
- It is not an automatic copyright transfer
- Does not transfer the economic rights in the work
Selling a work through an NFT is possible only
with an explicit written copyright-transfer agreement defining its scope.
Selling NFT is not selling the work.
Buying an NFT does not mean becoming the rights holder in the work.
Sources and related documents
These documents provide references for the methods and rules discussed in this article.