Crypto Bro Shocked As Wizards Shuts Down Unauthorised Magic The Gathering NFT Project

thegamer.com:

A project that aimed to use NFTs of Magic The Gathering cards to create a scarcity-driven 'NFT card economy' has been shut down by Wizards of the Coast, surprising absolutely nobody.

The project, mtgDAO, aimed to use the blockchain and NFTs to create a format where you could not play with cards if you owned one of the limited number of NFTs relating to it. The cards would be minted and distributed by mtgDAO, as outlined in the seven-page whitepaper explaining how it felt the format would work.

RELATED: 5 Things I Would Want in Games More Than NFTs

Evidently, the one thing that seven-page monologue failed to realise is intellectual property laws. As Wizards owns everything from the card art to the text written on it, it was no surprise that its lawyers stepped in and reminded them of the obvious: "your intended use of Wizards' intellectual property, including its trademarks and copyrights, would be unlawful". This email was shared on the mtgDAO Twitter account, followed by a lengthy thread about how Wizards 'just doesn't get it'.

In the thread, mtgDAO argues that Wizards should be supporting the project. In essence, it feels that the ban "unfairly discriminates against web3 tech and web3 communities" and that Wizards' stance is "reactionary". In a particularly hilarious tweet, they say "I don't know where we go from here. Wizards' position seems reactionary, but I don't currently know enough about copyright law to be confident about how a court would interpret this situation".

In an earlier thread, mtgDAO argues that it isn't infringement, as they're not selling any cards. Players will need to prove they own the card in paper, Arena, or on Magic Online before they're allowed an NFT. In the whitepaper, it says "we are not