Artiffine Under the Hood: Our Legal Stack

The Web3 Wild West is a young and evolving space where legal frameworks have yet to be established. Top minds in intellectual property (IP) law are working hard to create and implement standards, and many top-tier NFT projects are starting to take licensing and IP protection very seriously. However, when getting started in the space, it’s often difficult to figure out where your project stands, what IP rights to consider, and who to talk to for help.

That’s where Artiffine comes in. As founding members of the Harvard NFT Task Force and members of CC licenses executive board, we are uniquely qualified to handle licensing, rights clearing, and compliance issues in web3. From standardized services to fully tailor-made and custom integrated legal solutions, our range of services will suit everyone from NFT enthusiasts to enterprise clients, ensuring your web3 endeavors have a solid legal foundation upon which to grow.

The following is a summary of our services and their various tiers. If you don’t see what you’re looking for below, get in touch, and our legal team will get back to you ASAP.

Legal analysis

For most projects, it’s essential to survey the legal landscape before launch to understand the various obstacles and potential pitfalls that exist. Our team can give an overview of how your specific project fits into the space, and what to look out for along the way.

Web3 environment legal analysis - for projects looking to enter the web3 space, to analyze how their current business models will meld

Legal-theoretical specifics assessment:

• legality of implementing the project globally / in the Czech Republic
• possibility of implementing the project globally / in the Czech Republic
• other elements of the project
• limitations of the protection of the weaker contracting party
• limitations of protection of the project operator
• limitations of tokenization
• related activities

Cryptoproject legal analysis - for cryptoprojects to understand their compliance or lack thereof with existing laws and regulations

Crypto capital agenda:

• in relation to a security in the context of crypto assets
• in relation to share and investment capital
• token assessment in the context of crypto assets
• limitations of capital elements and securities elements in the case of crypto assets

Licensing

Implementing NFT licenses is essential to specify what rights you are licensing when you sell an NFT. It is also crucial to understand whether the IP you are licensing is in fact yours to license. Our licensing services range from standard, template-based licenses to base research, rights clearing, and fully tailor-made licenses.

Template use (cleared base) - for clients who have already addressed the IP compliance of their project. Suitable for basic projects of minimal scope (i.e. starting artists selling their own creations and a basic technical solution). Standardized license for the basic use of NFTs

Tailor-made license (cleared base) - for clients who have already addressed the IP compliance of their project. The license implemented is customized according to the specific requirements of the project. Suitable for large projects of unlimited scope (brands, marketplaces).

Base research - investigating and identifying potential IP conflicts for the given project‍

Rights clearing - for the use of existing, new IP, or third-party content

• possibility of editing and further dealing with the IP in question
• clarification and setting of legal limits for the needs of the project
• IP connection in the digitization / virtualization process

IP protection 

• protection of existing IP / new IP via setting the relationship towards the users
• T&C, EULA, license
• interaction limitations

GDPR

In Europe, complying with GDPR is an absolute must, and in the US, similar restrictions must be adhered to. To understand the risks facing your project and how to avoid them, we offer three tiers of GDPR compliance services:

Basic privacy policy - basic information on the data processing with elaborating on the exercise of the rights of the data subject

GDPR compliance - for legal compliance within the data processing and data subject protection within the project

• DPO assessment - for exploring the rights and obligations of personal data controller (project provider)
• privacy policy - for information towards the data subjects
• balance tests - for using different legal grounds for data processing
• records of processing activities
• DPIA - for evaluation of the risks and potential perils for data subjects
• database and analytics for the relevant security incidents and data breaches
• all the relevant contractual agenda

Full GDPR audit - for full legal compliance of personal data controller (project provider) in the scope of the controller as a whole

KYC & AML

Complying with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulations requires projects to verify the identities of their users and take extensive measures to ensure they are not facilitating, for example, illegal financial activities. Understanding both sets of regulations and how to effectively comply with them can be tedious and intimidating. However, our legal team can take care of everything from the most basic disclaimers to complex custom implementations.

• Basic assessment - basic KYC and AML compliance requires evaluation accompanied by legally sound and compliant disclaimers to protect your project.
• User login and authorization - KYC and AML-compliant login portal to verify the identities of your users
• KYC / AML compliance - comprehensive KYC and AML compliance measures implemented throughout the project and website in the relevant areas and relating to the tokenomics of the project

Legal tokenomics

Basic assessment - following the general web3 environment and cryptoproject legal analysis

• token usability evaluation / legality
• high-level legal compliance of project tokenomics
• specific assessment of project needs

IP clearing scheme - for clearing the position of IP protection and tokenomics (alignment)

• setting the options for use when trading with individual elements (against third parties)
• setting up IP relations towards the tokenized security

Additional services

• Consultations - our team is available to consult about a wide range of web3 legal issues including and beyond those discussed in this article.
• Translations from English - with both Czech and English native speakers at our disposal, we can handle legal translations to and from either language, as well as translations to Slovakian, German, and Hungarian.
• Workshops / presentations - to help your project’s team better understand the legal landscape they are navigating, we can do in-person or remote workshops and presentations.
• Supportive contractual agenda - we are able to provide complex contractual support even in areas unrelated to the project which are necessary to ensure legal compliance.‍
• Other legal agenda - based on the specific needs of the project we are able to secure other legal aspects independently of their relevance to the project, as required.