As a leading law firm in the NFT space with expertise in both art and intellectual property law, Amineddoleh & Associates LLC was selected to draft Monax’s template for the purchase and sale of NFTs.
Amineddoleh & Associates LLC is pleased to announce that it is working with Monax to further the company’s mission to deliver a comprehensive and cutting-edge digital contract platform that meets discerning users’ needs. Monax is a major player operating in the smart contracts market. It allows users to access and track agreement templates, as well as manage their contractual obligations throughout the life cycle of the contract. The model uses a combination of smart contract programming, blockchain technology, and business process modeling to offer users a unique, sophisticated tool to streamline and automate business contracts. It also reduces the likelihood of confusion and friction between contractual parties because the language is clear and accessible.
As part of this initiative, our team was hired by Monax to create a template agreement for the sale of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). NFTs are a new digital asset class ranging from artwork to GIFs, memes, Tweets, and even video clips of sporting events. Because they are tied to blockchain and cryptocurrency, NFTs straddle the divide between traditional and emerging property types, requiring a new way to deal with such transactions. As a result, Monax has implemented our one-of-a-kind template on its website as a resource for users who are buying and selling NFTs. NFTs identify and certify digital assets as unique items. While the digital image can still be duplicated, the NFT monetizes the images by allowing a buyer to purchase the unique token and, with it, ownership of the original digital object. There has been a growing market for art collectors who are buying and collecting NFTs like they would art, and in some cases, buying them for millions.
However, because NFTs are such innovative assets, collectors, purchasers, artists, and sellers all need contracts that protect their rights and accurately describe what is being included in the transaction. For instance, the purchase of an NFT does not automatically grant the buyer intellectual property rights in the original image (or video). An NFT agreement also offers artists the opportunity to obtain future royalties and exert greater control over their work. Depending on the parties’ specific needs, and the type of NFT in question, a more simple or complex contract may be required.
CryptoPunks NFTs (Larva Labs)
As a law firm specializing in art and intellectual property transactional and litigation matters, we were hired by Monax to draft its template, one of the first of its kind, because of our in-depth knowledge resulting from our continued work with artists, buyers, and sellers in the art world. As this new market continues to boom, we were pleased to draft the company’s novel template that is now available for future NFT buyers, sellers, and creators. Please note that our NFT template created for Monax is only a template, not a final agreement. Every sales transaction is unique and requires specific legal analysis necessitating nuanced transactional documents. We advise all artists, buyers, and sellers to consult with legal counsel prior to entering into an arts transaction.
In addition to the Monax template, our firm reviewed intellectual property terms and conditions for highly popular NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway, and we are currently developing other exciting NFT projects, such as a creative collaboration between a visual artist and well-known musician. As NFTs continue to evolve and grow within the digital marketplace and the art world, we look forward to participating in more projects and expanding our reach in this exciting new space.
If an effort to educate art market professionals about NFTs, Leila A. Amineddoleh will be discussing NFTs, luxury goods, and emerging technologies during the Art Law & Provenance module of the EXECUTIVE MASTER IN ART MARKET STUDIES at the University of Zurich.