After destroying a Black Lotus card to construct his own NFT collection, a crypto enthusiast known on Twitter as notsofast received a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown letter.
The concept was simple: destroy something valuable and create NFTs that would linger on the blockchain indefinitely. Notsofast destroyed his $20,000 Black Lotus card in a “ceremony” video broadcast to the Lotus NFTs website and YouTube in February, kicking off the “Lotus” initiative.
In an Ethereum-based crowdfunding campaign, notsofast planned to offer 10,000 NFTs commemorating the card. To receive one of the NFTs, interested customers would need to pay ETH. However, before notsofast and his team could begin minting the NFTs, Wizards of the Coast, the organisation that owns the copyright to the Magic: The Gathering property, contacted the initiative. Wizards of the Coast were concerned that notsofast’s proposal was based on intellectual property they did not possess.
In subsequent tweets, notsofast indicated that the initiative had received a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice for pages on the project’s website. He informed individuals who helped with the initiative that none of the photographs or text on the site were copyrighted. The project is still debating how to proceed in light of the DMCA takedown notice as of March 3rd.
It is unclear whether the Lotus NFT project will be able to continue. The Black Lotus card has become synonymous with Magic: The Gathering, despite the fact that Wizards of the Coast do not appear to own any of the artwork used in the project.
