Adobe will launch a system within Photoshop that, among other things can prove that the person selling the NFT is the one who made it. It's called Content Credentials and NFT sellers can link their Adobe ID to their crypto wallet. This will allow compatible NFT marketplaces the ability to show a type of certified certificate verifying the artist is authentic.
In an interview with Scott Belsky, Adobes chief product officer, Decoder reported that this functionality will be integrated into Photoshop with a prepare-as-NFT option. This feature is expected to launch in preview at the end of March. According to Belsky, the IPFS system will host the attribution data generated by Content Credentials. IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), is a distributed way to host files. It allows a network of people to keep data safe and accessible, as opposed to a single company. This is similar to torrent systems. Adobe claims that NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea and KnownOrigin will be able integrate with Content Credentials in order to display Adobes attribution information.
What is an NFT? You can buy and sell unique digital items, and track who is the owner using blockchain technology. NFT is an acronym for non-fungible token. It can contain any digital item, such as drawings, animated GIFs and songs. An NFT could be unique, such as a painting or trading card. The blockchain tracks who owns the file. Recent headlines have focused on NFTs, which can be sold for millions of dollars. High-profile memes such as Nyan Cat's deal with it sunglasses and Nyan Cat are both up for auction. NFTs are also making headlines due to their huge electricity consumption and negative environmental impact. You can also read our FAQ about NFTs if you have any questions.
The NFT has seen a lot of art theft. Many people have created art that they don't own the rights to or didn't create. It is possible to mint NFTs by anyone, even if you don't own the copyright. There is nothing the blockchain can do about it. Worse, NFTs created by minting are authenticated on the blockchain.
While this system does not make it more difficult to mint NFTs of media that you don't own, it can make those NFTs less appealing to the market.
This means that I could right-click an image of an NFT, and then make it my own, possibly fooling unsuspecting buyers. Adobes system doesn't prevent art theft but it does provide a way for you to prove that the NFT you are selling hasn't been stolen beyond that. It is up to buyers to decide what value they attach to that.
NFT fraudsters have even taken advantage of Banksy, whose name is mentioned in Decoder. Ironically, Pranksy, a NFT collector, paid $300K to purchase an NFT that was attributed to the street artist. It was almost certainly fake. Although he was able to get the money back, it would have been much less hassle if Banksy had digitally signed his NFT. Adobes Belsky notes that Banksy wouldn't want to link his Adobe ID and name to a crypto wallet. However, the system is open-source so it's possible for an anonymous artist to find a way to provide Content Credentials to the company responsible for authenticating his work.
Adobes Content Credentials will not only benefit NFTs but also other areas of the company's Content Authenticity Initiative. Beta versions of the system are being launched by Adobe. Users can use it to tag stock images on Adobes system and show Photoshop edits.
Adobes views on NFTs and the impact of certifiedattribution on art and NFTs and Photoshop on the Web are all covered in this week's episode of Decoder.
