Learn / Intermediate
NFTs: ownership, metadata and rights
Separate control of a token from copyright, storage and promises made by a collection.
The Token Press education desk · Reviewed 2026-09-08
What is non-fungible
A non-fungible token identifies a particular token within a contract, unlike interchangeable units of the same fungible token. Applications use NFTs for collectibles, membership and other records. The identifier alone does not explain what rights its holder receives.
Owning an NFT does not automatically transfer copyright in an associated image. Those rights depend on the actual terms and applicable law, which must be checked separately.
Where the media lives
An NFT can reference metadata that points to an image or other resource. That resource may live on a conventional server, a distributed storage system or, in some designs, on-chain. The storage arrangement affects availability and changeability.
Check whether metadata can be updated, who controls that permission and how the media is preserved. A marketplace thumbnail is an interface representation rather than proof of durable storage.
Read a collection critically
For a practice exercise, identify the network, contract address and token ID of a publicly documented NFT. Then locate its metadata and the collection’s rights statement without connecting a wallet.
Reported floor price refers to an asking-price measure, not a guarantee that a holder can sell immediately. Thin liquidity, wash trading and marketplace-specific rules complicate comparisons. Evaluate the object and its rights before treating a collection’s trading statistics as evidence of value.
Sources & further reading
Educational content. Examples are illustrative. Consult the linked documentation for current details.