Concept site: what nftyst.com could become. The domain is for sale. See the offer
NFTYSTA SMALL GUIDE, NO. 1

What you actually own

No. 4471THIS IS NOTTHE PICTURE.

Before anything else

This zine says what buying an NFT usually gives you, in plain words.

It is not legal or investment advice, and it says nothing about what any token is worth. Every sale has its own terms, and those terms beat anything printed here. Read the license.

  • 2What did I buy?
  • 4Do I own the art?
  • 6Where is the file?
  • 8What to read before you buy
1

What did I buy?

A token. An entry on a public ledger that says your wallet holds one numbered item.

Think of a coat-check ticket. The ticket is real, and it is yours. It is not the coat.

What a ticket gets you depends on the terms printed on it. So does a token. Some come with a lot. Some come with very little.

2
No.4471 3

Do I own the art?

Usually not the copyright.

Most sales give you a license: a list of things you may do with the picture. The copyright stays with the maker unless the terms say it moves.

A sale that does move the copyright says so, in words. If you cannot find those words, assume it did not.

4

What a license might say

A sample only. Every license differs, and yours is the one that counts.

Show it on your own wall or screenOften yes
Use it as your profile pictureOften yes
Print it on shirts for your shopOnly if it says so
Make a sequel or a remixOnly if it says so
Stop other people copying itOnly if you hold the copyright
5

Where is the file?

YOURTOKEN THE FILE A LINK CAN BREAK

Often not in the token.

Many tokens only hold a link. The picture sits on a server, or on a shared storage network, and someone has to keep it there. Servers close. Links break. The token would still be in your wallet, pointing at nothing.

6

Three questions for the seller.

Who stores the file? Who keeps paying for that? May I keep a copy of my own, and does the license let me? A good seller answers all three without being asked twice.

7

What to read before you buy

  1. Who made this, and how do I know?
  2. Where is the license, in its full words?
  3. Does it move the copyright, or only give permission?
  4. Where is the file, and who keeps it there?
  5. Can the terms change after I buy?
8

Not legal or investment advice

This is a starting point. Laws differ by country and every sale has its own terms. Read the license. If it matters, ask a lawyer.

NFTyst as a plain guide, for an art law or education publisher: a short name for a question people still ask.

Ask about this name

Set in two inks, blue and red, on paper this page only pretends to be. Sample questions and answers, written for this concept.