Melania Trump's Moon NFT in NASA Dispute
Melania Trump's newly released Apollo 11 NFT collection, which utilizes iconic NASA imagery, is facing opposition from NASA for non-compliance with their merchandising regulations.
The Deets
- The Apollo 11 NFT, termed "Man on the Moon," features an iconic image from NASA's lunar mission.
- NASA has expressed opposition to the use of its imagery in NFTs.
- The agency's regulations state it will not approve merchandising applications for NFTs.
- Despite NASA's disapproval, it is unclear if any actions will be taken given that the imagery is in the public domain.
The Bulk
On the eve of the 54th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, Melania Trump released a collection of NFTs termed "Man on the Moon." This collection uniquely incorporates one of NASA's most iconic images, the photograph taken by Neil Armstrong depicting Buzz Aldrin standing on the lunar surface.
Although NASA's images are generally not copyrighted and are available for educational or informational use, the agency has drawn a line when it comes to NFTs.
According to NASA's merchandising regulations, applications involving NFTs will not be approved as they're inconsistent with the product categories that the agency is approved to merchandise.
These regulations, however, might not prevent the use of NASA's images for NFT creation since they are in the public domain and not protected by copyright law.
Therefore, despite NASA's displeasure with the situation, it's unclear if any definitive action can be taken against the usage of these images.
❗Why It Matters
This situation underscores the complexities and legal ambiguities around the use of public domain images in NFTs, which could set precedent for future NFT creation and usage disputes.
💰 Money Talks
The "Man on the Moon" NFT is priced at $75, and in a past instance, Anicorn Watches managed to sell a NASA-branded NFT for over $41,000, indicating potential financial implications and revenue streams surrounding this controversy.
🎤 Founder Feedback
NASA is not approving any merchandising applications involving Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), as they are not consistent with the categories of products the Agency is approved to merchandise.NASA
🔜 What's Next?
It remains to be seen whether NASA will choose to ignore this situation, as it did with Anicorn Watches' NFT, or utilize this as an opportunity to further protect its content from what it deems as unwanted usage.
