4 Vital Points of NFT License you need to know!

With the advent of NFTs, a new classification of assets has been created. There are laws pertaining to digital assets, but they aren’t sufficient enough to cover all bases. Thus, making NFT License is essential for a user to keep his work, investment, and content safe.

Read on further to know how NFT Licenses work and what makes them so important! 

What is an NFT License?

At its essence, the NFT License is a user agreement. This license can be copied and pasted into any NFT creator’s terms of service, and it will restrict what users can and cannot do with their NFTs. 

The aim is to find the right balance between two concerns:

1. One is to protect artists’ hard work and innovation, and protect the public interest.
2. Secondly, to allow users to fully enjoy their NFTs and give them the freedom and flexibility to do so.

This license can be used for any NFT project.

Commercialization of NFTs:

By including an NFT License into the terms of usage of NFTs, a user has the following advantages :

1. NFT art can be monetized easily. 
2. Users can move their NFTs to any ecosystem, marketplace, or digital wallet that uses the blockchain technology. 

Improved Security for Content Creators:

Before the emergence of NFTs, digital assets were protected by restrictions, such as copyright laws, which made it difficult to make copies of movies or read e-books in places where they didn’t belong.

Digital locks can be beneficial in some cases, as they can help creators earn from their work while also preventing piracy. Locks, on the other hand, limit what artists can and can’t do with the things they own, robbing them of their creative freedom. Instead of accepting the old approach, the idea is to attempt to provide true ownership without severing the ties that bind NFT creators.

To protect creators, NFT Licenses prohibit inappropriate use of NFT art. 

There isn’t any: Changing the NFT’s art at its core. Since NFTs are one-of-a-kind, and if the art can be changed, it is no longer unique.

Finally, the license requires that NFT-based interactions must cryptographically authenticate that the person utilizing the asset is the true owner. The concept of ownership becomes obsolete if anyone could utilize any NFT! 

Types of License: 

As the scope of technology increases, the need for regulation also increases. Likewise, with the boom in the Metaverse and crypto world, there is a need for regulation to safeguard your assets, art, and investments. As of the current situation, there are two types of Licenses for NFTs. 

Read further to know more!

Public License:  

This license applies to all forms of NFT art. It’s a basic version of the legal contract that’s meant to be relied on by artists. It provides token owners several rights, including commercial rights, while allowing authors to withhold certain rights for themselves. 

An artist who creates NFTs can always use the NFT public license to credit their work, and it is enough. Nevertheless, it is only suitable for digital art, and there are no options for even small alterations to the agreement.

Specific NFT License: 

An NFT license agreement is a legal document that lays out the rights and obligations of the parties involved. The creator of the NFT retains certain rights while transferring or licensing the rest to the owners of the tokens. Only the respective tokens should be able to transfer rights under an NFT.

A creator should consider what can be done with a new NFT before releasing it in the market. For instance, establishing the kind of relationship the creator intends to have with the future token owners? With that priority in mind, the creator can clearly state how the License must be drafted before the NFT can be sold on the Marketplace or transferred to another ecosystem altogether.

The artist/creator can increase the popularity of the NFT by adding a certain amount of explanation of the concept of NFT. It involves presenting a set of supporting documentation to potential buyers/investors. Such documentation becomes important as it defines the work that has been created and how it distinguishes itself from the other NFTs. 

Having an NFT License makes it easier for the users to decide whether or not they want to invest in the NFT.

How to draft an NFT License?

Since the NFT License agreement is a binding legal contract, it is best to find a lawyer to help with the legal text. However, the following are certain key points that need to be considered for drafting an NFT License agreement. 

1. The best way to start is to put the license in the Smart Contract. The cost of including the license in the smart contract is negligible.
2. Linking the right of transfer to the transfer of tokens ensures that buyers do not end up in any legal issue or trouble in the future.
3. One of the most important aspects of drafting an NFT license is detailing items specifically so that there are no ambiguities whatsoever about what the customers get in terms of rights and how to claim them.
4. Always consider the statutory compliance challenges, particularly for utility and cryptographic keys. Especially for what might be referred to as legal talk?
5. Learning about the tax complications that emerge from creating an NFT and understanding if the sale creates a taxable profit for you?
6. Draft the License in a human-readable version that supports its legal content (making it easy for buyers/investors to understand the terms and conditions).

Is it important to have an NFT License?

The purpose of an NFT license agreement, like any contract, is to provide legal clarity to the parties  involved. As a digital artist who’s just getting started with NFTs, the public license is sufficient to start.For complicated projects, tailored-made licenses are necessary. This becomes vital not only for the creator but also for prospective investors and final buyers. 

With the crypto economy being chaotic and the current available legislation is incapable of bringing a certain order, an NFT specific license agreement is considered as the perfect solution available currently. It is still the responsibility of the creator to look after the NFT projects, including their legal elements. 

Any legal binding contract that works towards the safety of the work of an artist or a creator has a lot of advantages. With an NFT license in the smart contract, an artist/developer/creator is empowered to make the best of his opportunities by creating an NFT. Due to the lack of standard formats, the regulatory authority must decipher and define the right format for a license. It is safe to say that NFTs that are being created with a license in their smart contract offer a sense of security to the investor/buyer.