There is leeway in the current framework of intellectual property law to accommodate non-fungible tokens (NFTs)—the market just doesn’t know it yet. A growing number of lawsuits against NFT creators, disputing the underlying rights to intellectual property linked to their digital token, is likely to help iron out the legal questions surrounding these blockchain-backed assets.

Attorneys specializing in intellectual property law say such lawsuits are only the beginning, as they expect more frequent conflicts around the ownership and regulation of NFTs.