[rubyn00bie]

You’re sort of missing my point. An artist creating a similar work is not equivalent.

If they were atomically identical copies, they would be literally the same. Any idea of “difference” would be completely false. That’s the difference here, these (NFTs) are by all means atomic copies. They aren’t close to the same, they ARE the same.

If we could make atomic copies of the Mona Lisa it would surely drop in value… scarcity is what causes works like the Mona Lisa to be valuable. With an NFT there is no scarcity because unlimited duplicates, each as real as the original, can be produced for nearly free.

[bryanlarsen]

Read this classic essay: https://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/entry/23

The works are identical if bits don't have color (re linked essay above). We know they don't, but in the eyes of the law they definitely do, so an exact copy is still a copy in the eyes of the law.

[detaro]

The "original" Mona Lisa, that's not a copy, would still be valued over the copies, even if the copies were perfect.