Category: economic justice

Your Crypto Winter 2023 Short Course is Here! Register now.

Posted on by TME in Blockchain, courses, Cryptocurrency, Digital, economic justice, Education, Entrepreneurship, Event, Finance, Financial, inclusion, innovation

Register today to participate in this seven lesson short course that expands on last week’s one hour Crypto Winter Compass™ Masterclass. You’ve got questions. I’ve got answers. And resources, best practices and tools to help you thrive in all markets.

Look inside the course (hosted in our Mighty Networks Private Community):


Lesson 1: 1/9

In this lesson, you will learn about the findings of recent surveys of Black crypto investors and other historically marginalized populations, and gain insight on why black investors and young investors over index in crypto investment but under index in more traditional investments. 


Lesson 2: 1/10

In this lesson, we’ll cover ways to invest responsibly in a balanced and prudent approach and how to avoid scams and predatory practices in the crypto space. 


Lesson 3: 1/11

We’ll cover updated guidance on crypto self-custody and comparing crypto wallets, exchanges, and securing private keys, seed phrases and hardware. Don’t worry if you don’t know what these terms mean. By the end of this short course, you will.


Lesson 4: 1/12

You will learn about the latest ways to earn crypto passively and super charge the power of your virtual currency assets.


Lesson 5: 1/13

Did you know there are over 22,000 (yes, twenty two THOUSAND) different types of crypto crypto coins and tokens? You will learn best practices for how to vetting crypto with purpose, to better understand the different types of crypto and make better informed decisions and you develop a buy, hold (or “HODL”), lend, and sell plan based on your financial goals.


Lesson 6: 1/14

In this lesson, you will learn all about NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and the future of creativity for creatives, collectors and investors.


Lesson 7: 1/15

Finally, on day seven we’ll review what you’ve learned, and you will complete your action checklist to celebrate the shift to right action you have already taken and then commit to the three actions you will take to ensure you are closer to your goals to get in and win in the new economy.


A seven-day challenge with accessible bits of information. Short, easy wins. And the momentum (and support) you need for your continuing crypto education journey. The basic course is free. Upgrade to be invited to live a live coaching call and email Q&A support for just $99.

I am excited to work with you and help you thrive in the future of money. You CAN do this. I can help.

Let’s grow!
Dr. Tonya Evans

REGISTER NOW

Prepare Your Workforce and Clients for the Future of Wealth and Work

Posted on by TME in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Digital, economic justice, Education, Finance, Financial, innovation, Internet, Smart Contracts

Experts agree that reskilling and upskilling your workforce increases retention, productivity and your competitive advantage. But with so many carnival barkers in the emerging virtual currency asset class screaming “ALL CRYPTO” or “NEVER CRYPTO”, it’s impossible to separate fact from fiction (and fraud).

Until now.

You’ve come to the right place if you’ve wanted to want to remain competitive, relevant, productive, you’ve been wading through the deluge of information on cable news, social media and YouTube University. There’s a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt about crypto assets and the broader macroeconomics outlook, and you don’t want to lose the wave of innovation momentum BUT you also don’t want to drown or swept away by the strong under toe of misinformation. 

I am just like you. I used to believe innovation in finance and business was too complicated, too confusing and WAY too risky. But I invested 10,000+ hours of time and fell down countless rabbit holes in search of a way to empower others to learn from my experience. Then I developed the first blockchain, cryptocurrency and law online certificate program offered by a law school in the world. And then I created the Advantage Evans Academy to empower historically marginalized people left behind in the dot com era, but ready to position themselves on the leading edge of innovation and opportunity.

Bottom line? I’ve worked hard to make it all make sense, so you don’t have to.

Consider me your lifeboat to ensure your company not only survives this tidal wave of change in the future of work and wealth, you THRIVE! You need an unbiased, supportive and straightforward way to learn how to succeed at the intersection of law, business and technology and to develop the type of opportunity, sustained growth and impact only available to the most savvy, forward-thinking leaders.

Let’s talk. Inquire about booking me for your next corporate training.

My Thoughts on Copyright Office & USPTO Joint Study to Examine IP Issues Related to NFTs

Posted on by TME in Blockchain, Copyright, Copyright Office, Cryptocurrency, economic justice, entertainment law, Intellectual Property, Law Practice, law school, law student, NFT, trademark office, USPTO, Wills

Copyright 2022 Tonya M. Evans (Twitter/IG: @IPProfEvans)

On Tuesday, November, 22, 2022, the U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a joint study to examine various IP issues arising from the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The Wednesday, November 23, 2022 Notice of Inquiry for the Federal Register can be found here.

This joint study follows a June 9, 2022 letter from Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property leadership, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Chair) and Thom Tillis (R-Tillis), requesting that the Copyright Office and the USPTO conduct a joint study and address issues related to NFTs and intellectual property rights in consultation with the private sector, drawing from the technological, creative, and academic sectors.

The notice seeks written public comments to several questions listed and also announces that the Copyright Office and USPTO intend to hold virtual public roundtables in January 2023.

A Closer Look at Copyright + NFTs

In late 2017 and early 2018, the era of token proliferation to leverage token issuance to raise funds to build blockchain-enabled projects (with a healthy dose of scams and unregistered securities), I began studying the intersection of copyright and blockchains, smart contracts, open source software and token standards in the Ethereum ecosystem (ERC-20 for fungible tokens and ERC-721 and later standards for non-fungible tokens).

My first law review article, CryptoKitties, Cryptography, and Copyright, presented at the 2019 BYU Copyright and Trademark Symposium and published in the American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal, 47 AIPLA 219, 2019), examined the copyright implications of unique, scarce digital creative assets transferred and stored on blockchains, which I refer to herein generally as unique crypto assets (UCAs).

Specifically, I explored the emergence of NFTs created based on the ERC-721, a novel token standard at the time that enabled, for the first time, verifiable digital scarcity—an elusive characteristic in the world of Web 2.0. I analyzed whether ERC-721 tokens (and other non-fungible coding standards) could empower UCA holders to maintain control over their cryptographic creations in gaming, collectibles, and the full range of copyright-intensive industries, to name a few.

More recently, I examined the creative justice opportunities that might be enjoyed by systemically marginalized creatives when NFT and blockchain technology is leveraged.

I assessed whether such web3 technologies could provide and protect the economic power and creative control the Copyright Act promised but historically failed (and fails) to secure when at odds with discriminatory practices, contractual loopholes, and statutory impediments like the copyright transfer termination right.

I hope that stakeholders from all aspect of creativity, technology, education and policy submit comments and are invited to provide testimony during any hearings in these matters. This technology has disrupted copyright-intensive industries as much as it has the financial industry. And we’ve only just begun to explore the power and promise (as well as the pitfalls), to be sure.

In working with creatives and collectors at BlackNFTArt, Umba Daima and Black@, I know firsthand how disintermediated access to platforms that connect them on a peer-to-peer basis globally and to transfer artistry for cryptocurrencies (capital assets in the US) has begun to move the needle on the income and wealth gaps (at least before the current crypto winter).

I also know that numerous issues exist for artists, collectors and exchanges: the copyright complexities in the referenced art file connected to an individual token (because the token, itself, it not the art); direct and secondary liability issues for platforms; copyminting issues; file storage; how to respond to takedown notices and decentralized file storage issues; copyright transfer termination issues; estate planning and post-mortem copyright and license management issues. The list goes on. And that is just copyright!

So there is much to discuss. What intellectual property issues do you see at the intersection of IP and NFTs?

I’ve talked about this topic to several lawyers on my podcast, Tech Intersect, so listen, subscribe, share and let’s continue to conversation: