COPYRIGHT GUIDELINES AND POLICIES

Introduction

Copyright is the law of art. As the premier fine digital art marketplace in the blockchain ecosystem, the Mint Gøld Dust community benefits from protecting the legal interests of all creators. This means ensuring that Artists understand that only authorized and original content may be minted and listed for sale on the Mint Gøld Dust marketplace. By respecting the rights of all creators, Mint Gøld Dust Artists help ensure market confidence in the rarity and value of each Mint Gøld Dust Item to the growing network of digital art collectors. These Copyright Guidelines and Policies provide an overview of acceptable marketplace minting conduct, a primer on some aspects of copyright law, and explain some of the unique copyright-related questions presented by NFTs and blockchain technology. All capitalized used but not defined herein shall have the meaning set forth in our Terms of Use.

These Guidelines and Policies are not legal advice and should not be relied on as such. Reliance on this guide does not form an attorney-client relationship. Copyright law varies depending on the jurisdiction, but these Guidelines and Policies primarily characterize and rely on United States law unless stated otherwise. There is no guarantee as to the accuracy of the information herein. If you have a legal question about your rights as an Artist or Collector, especially a right concerning your right to mint artworks, a "fair use defense," or a claim of copyright infringement, you should contact an attorney and not any members of the Mint Gøld Dust team. For more information on copyright law, you can visit the website of theU.S. Copyright Office or theWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

What is a "Copyright"?

A copyright is a legal right granted to authors and artists for "original works of authorship." In general, copyrights can be obtained in all sorts of creations, such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, poems, lyrics, musical compositions, sound recordings, audiovisual works and – you guessed it – digital art. Copyright protection allows creators to market, exploit, and protect their creative efforts. A copyright owner has the right to prevent the unauthorized reproduction, creation of derivative works, display, distribution, and performance of original works of art. On the flip side, only the copyright owner can authorize such uses.

Obtaining Copyright Protection

Copyright registration is not necessarily required to obtain legal protection for digital work. Like magic out of thin air, copyright protection begins once the work is created. All that is required is that the work be "fixed" in some tangible medium to qualify for copyright protection. Generally, if you create an original digital work of art you have a copyright from the moment of creation so long as it is stored in some file format. Thus, you have the right to prevent the unauthorized use of your creation the moment it is complete.

Benefits of Copyright Registration

Although official copyright registration is not always required for legal protection, registering with your country's copyright registration office may have very important benefits and can add value to your creative portfolio. For example, copyright registration is required before an infringement suit may be filed in federal court in the United States. Further, if timely obtained, copyright registration opens up the door for statutory damages and attorneys' fees if litigating an infringement lawsuit in the United States. For more information on copyright registration, visit the U.S. Copyright Office.

Copyright Ownership

Copyright ownership in a work vests initially in the author or authors of the work. Absent an obligation to assign, convey, or transfer the copyright to someone else (i.e., a "work for hire" as discussed below), the Artist(s) enjoy sole copyright ownership for original digital creations.

Joint Works

When two or more authors create a single work with the intent of merging their contributions into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole (i.e., digital art with audio elements), co-authors are considered joint authors and have an indivisible and equal interest in the work as a whole. Thus, true joint authors by default are equally entitled to sales and royalties, unless the joint authors agree otherwise. Currently, Mint Gøld Dust does not facilitate the joint-minting of digital artworks and will not allocate payments among joint authors. Mint Gøld Dust expects its Artists to work with each other in sharing profits received from jointly created works and is not responsible for disputes between them. Mint Gøld Dust is working on ways to increase the flexibility and modularity of its market mechanics and aims to support these types of features in the future.

Works Made for Hire

Certain types of specifically commissioned works, or so-called "works made for hire," are an exception to the general rule that the Artist is the legal creator of the work. If a work was commissioned through a written agreement or made during the scope of the Artist"s employment, the party that hired the Artist may be considered both the author and the copyright owner of the work. Thus, an Artist could be in violation of an obligation owed to another by minting artworks legally considered "works made for hire." Whether a work is considered a "work made for hire" depends on the facts and circumstances, and may have implications on whether or not you have the right to mint a work. Whether or not a work is legally a "work made for hire," you may have assigned copyrights to the person who commissioned the work if you signed an agreement specifically stating so. If in doubt as to whether or not the work you plan on minting is a "work made for hire," consider consulting an attorney. To learn more about "works made for hire," visit the.

NFT Ownership ≠ Copyright Ownership

Ownership of a copyright is separate and distinct from ownership of any material object (i.e., a painting) or digital asset (i.e., a non-fungible token or "NFT") in which the work is embodied or embedded. According to our Terms of Service, Artists do not lose copyright protection over works when they are sold on the Mint Gøld Dust marketplace, unless the parties expressly agree in writing to convey a copyright interest as part of the transfer. As further explained in our Terms of Service, Collectors only have a property interest in lawfully purchased NFTs, but they do not have a copyright interest in the underlying artworks. The Artist reserves all exclusive copyrights to the underlying copyrights. Please see our Terms of Use for more information.

Can Artists Make Commercial Use of Mint Gøld Dust Artworks After They Sell?

As the copyright owners for the works they create, Mint Gøld Dust Artists have the exclusive right to make commercial use of their artworks (and all other exclusive rights under copyright law) even after being sold on the Mint Gøld Dust marketplace. This means that Artists are generally free to market, print, and license artwork underlying minted NFTs. However, and as explained further below, titled "Artists Can Only Mint Original, Authorized, and Non-Infringing Works", Artists are not permitted to sell other digital works or NFTs if an identical work is sold or listed for sale on the Mint Gøld Dust marketplace.

The Collector's Limited Rights to Mint Gøld Dust Artworks

Collectors have the exclusive right to sell, trade, or transfer their Mint Gøld Dust Items, but Collectors may not make "commercial use" of the underlying work. For example, Collectors may not sell copies of the work, mint additional NFTs based on the work, sell access to the work, create or sell derivative works embodying the work, or otherwise commercially exploit the Work. As detailed further in our Terms of Service, Collectors receive a limited license only to display artworks underlying Mint Gøld Dust Items legally owned and properly obtained.

Artists Can Only Mint Original, Authorized, and Non-Infringing Works

Mint Gøld Dust can only maintain its standing as the premier platform for fine digital art if Collectors continue to have high confidence in the integrity of the marketplace. Collectors should (and can!) be confident that every item on the Mint Gøld Dust marketplace is an original and lawfully minted creation that does not infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. As an Artist, you can improve on your own reputation and add value to the Mint Gøld Dust community by following these guidelines:

Mint only original, non-infringing works that you actually and personally created

Mint only works that you have the legal authority to mint (i.e., you are the owner of the copyright and you have not transferred the copyright to another)

Refrain from minting stolen, knock-off, or infringing content

Refrain from minting content created by other Mint Gøld Dust Artists, unless expressly permitted

If your work incorporates unoriginal content, make sure that you have permission to use the appropriated content from the owner, or the appropriated content is in the public domain or you have a valid "fair use" defense.

Artists Are Solely Responsible for Determining That Their Works Do Not Infringe

All Artists must monitor their own art for infringing content before minting to ensure the integrity of the marketplace and to protect their own reputation. Our Terms of Service expressly require Artists to represent that their works contain no infringing or unauthorized material. Mint Gøld Dust has no power to prevent an infringing work from being minted, but does have the power to take down infringing works, revoke minting privileges, or otherwise restrict use of the Mint Gøld Dust platform for posting infringing content or violating these Guidelines, whether or not a "fair use" exception may apply. More details about rules for minting works on the Mint Gøld Dust platform can be found in ourTerms of Use.

Artists Must Refrain from Minting Unoriginal or Unauthorized Content

Determining whether it is acceptable to mint unoriginal content is a difficult, if not an amorphous and subjective judgment call. Indeed, many celebrated contemporary, pop, and collage art forms that embrace the practice of reappropriating unoriginal content are often met with much controversy, especially when the "fair use" work sells at astronomical prices with no financial or reputational credit given to appropriated artists. Although the digital art world is relatively new, and standards for fairly rewarding all contributors are still under development, it's clear that the crypto art movement has continued the practice of reappropriating unoriginal content, often with a symbolic, transformative, or meme-worthy purpose. Artists should never mint a work containing copyrightable elements of another's work unless they are authorized by the copyright owner or a valid fair use defense applies.

Understanding "Fair Use"

Artists appropriating unoriginal works should have a strong artistic basis, rationale, or purpose for exploiting the former work, and should not be motivated solely by passing off the work as their own or undercutting the original artist's ability to market his or her own work. "Fair use" can be thought of as an embodiment of freedom of speech in the art domain. Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that may qualify as fair use. Even though the rights of copyright holders must be respected, "fair use" recognizes that some use of a copyrighted work is tolerated to facilitate a free and open exchange of ideas, concepts, and artistic statements. The standard for "fair use" varies around the world. In the U.S., courts consider the following four factors in evaluating the question of fair use: (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. In addition to the above, other factors may also be considered by a court in weighing a fair use question, depending upon the circumstances. Courts evaluate fair use claims on a case-by- case basis, and the outcome of any given case depends on a fact-specific inquiry. This means that there is no formula to ensure that a predetermined percentage or amount of a work—or specific number of words, lines, pages, copies—may be used without permission. Information about fair use may be found at Fair Use Index, a searchable database of court opinions in the United States, made available by the U.S. Copyright Office to make the principles and applications of fair use more accessible and understandable to the public. If you are concerned as to whether a particular use is fair, however, it is best to consult an attorney.

Artists Must Determine at Their Own Risk Whether Their Works Qualify as "Fair Use"

Artists are solely (or with the help of their attorney) responsible for ensuring that the content they mint does not infringe the rights of others. Indeed, our Terms of Use and minting procedure require the Artist to represent that their works are in fact original, non-infringing creations. Whether or not an Artist believes that his or her work qualifies as "fair use," they may still be held liable for infringement if an aggrieved copyright or trademark owner decides to institute a legal action.

Mint Gøld Dust Does Not Make "Fair Use" Judgments for Artists

We expect all of our Artist's to post non-infringing and original content. In order to express their artistic message and style, Artists may in certain instances borrow and build upon other works. Mint Gøld Dust cannot and will not decide whether any Artist's creation qualifies for a "fair use" exception. Mint Gøld Dust is not capable of providing legal advice and does not operate with the authority of a court of law. Mint Gøld Dust is primarily concerned with fostering the well-established community of Artists and Collectors, combatting copyright infringement, and fulfilling its duties under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), as discussed further below. If your minting conduct is in violation of the Terms of Use, these Copyright Guidelines and Policies, our Community Guidelines, or is receiving complaints of infringement, Mint Gøld Dust will take any action available to it at its sole discretion whether or not a "fair use" exception may apply.

Artists Agree Not to Mint Multiple NFTs for the Same Underlying Work

NFTs have created an entirely new asset class for digital art and collectibles, but much of the value derived from digital art depends on the proven rarity of the NFT. Mint Gøld Dust Items are intended to be unique, meaning that there should only ever be one digital token or asset for a given work of art. Blockchain makes it possible to verifiably prove the provenance and authenticity of digital art like never before, but there are currently no deployed technological mechanisms or standards to prevent Artists from minting identical NFTs and selling them without the original Collector's knowledge. In order to ensure the rarity of each Mint Gøld Dust item, our Terms of Service provide that minting a work on the Platform constitutes an express representation, warranty, and covenant that the Artist has not, will not, and will not cause another to mint, tokenize, sell, or offer for sale another digital collectible, asset, or product for the same underlying work.

The Role of Reputation

Reputation plays an important role in the art world. A solid reputation can turn a simple "Red" pixel into valuable work of art, but a poor reputation can create uncertainty and concern as to the value or credibility of a particular Artist's works. Reputation acts as a signal to art collectors, but also as an enforcement mechanism to discourage infringement and duplicative minting of Mint Gøld Dust Items. If you mint duplicative works beyond the number of editions promised (Mint Gøld Dust only currently supports single editions), the market will notice. If you mint unoriginal content with a tenuous or non-existent "fair use" defense, the market will notice. Indeed, blockchain technology has enabled the market to notice these things better than ever before. In short, add value to your creative portfolio and to the Mint Gøld Dust community by protecting your reputation through compliance with these Guidelines and Policies.

Copyright Infringement Complaints Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Mint Gøld Dust disclaims any responsibility or liability for copyrighted materials posted or sold on the Platform. Mint Gøld Dust respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects Artists to do the same. It is our policy to respond promptly to any claim that content posted on the site infringes the copyright or other intellectual property rights of any person. Mint Gøld Dust will use reasonable efforts to investigate notices of alleged infringement and will take appropriate action under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and these Terms, including removing or disabling access to content claimed to be infringing and/or terminating accounts and access to the site. Collectors purchase Mint Gøld Dust items assuming the risk that it may be subsequently taken down pursuant to a valid DMCA Notice.

The DMCA Process and Procedure

The DMCA provides a process for a copyright owner to give notification to an online service provider concerning alleged copyright infringement. When an effective DMCA notification is received, the online service provider responds under this process by taking down the offending content. On taking down content under the DMCA, we will take reasonable steps to contact the Artist responsible for Minting the removed content so that a counter notification may be filed if applicable ("Counter Notification"). On receiving a valid Counter Notification, we generally restore the content in question, unless we receive notice from the DMCA notice provider that a legal action has been filed seeking a court order to restrain the alleged infringer from engaging in the infringing activity. Our Privacy Policy does not restrict our usage of any information contained in any DMCA take-down notice ("Take-Down Notice") or Counter Notification. If you have any questions about your rights, copyright infringement, or the notification and counter-notification process under the DMCA, we recommend that you consult an attorney.

Filing a DMCA "Take Down" Notification

If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any content on the Mint Gøld Dust Site infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification pursuant to the DMCA by providing us with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C. § 512 for further detail):

  1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works, a representative list of such works at that site.
  3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material. *_ Providing URLs in the body of your DMCA notification is the best way to help us locate content quickly. _
  4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you (the complaining party), such as an address, telephone number, and an electronic mail address at which you (the complaining party) may be contacted.
  5. A statement that you (the complaining party) have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you (the complaining party) are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  7. **(Optional) Provide information, if possible, sufficient to permit us to notify the user(s) who posted the content that allegedly contains infringing material.

Any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that content or an activity is infringing or that any material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, shall be liable to us and possibly others for any damages, including costs and attorneys' fees incurred by us in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing or in replacing the removed material or enabling access to it.

Responding to an DMCA Notice with a Counter Notification

We will take reasonable steps to promptly inform you if your content has been taken down upon receipt of an effective DMCA infringement takedown notification. If you believe that the content that was removed or to which access was disabled is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or pursuant to the law, to mint and use the material, you may send us a Counter Notification containing the following information:

  1. Your physical or electronic signature;
  2. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled;
  3. A statement that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the material; and
  4. Your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address, a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the U.S. district court in the state in which you reside (or the U.S. district court where our headquarters are located if your address is outside of the United States), and a statement that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of the alleged infringement to us.

You have ten (10) business days after receipt of a DMCA Take-Down Notice to send us an effective Counter Notification or the allegedly infringing material may not be restored.

Any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or an activity is infringing or that any material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, shall be liable to us for any damages, including costs and attorneys' fees incurred by us in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing or in replacing the removed material or enabling access to it.

Where to Send a DMCA Request

You must submit your DMCA Take-Down Notices and Counter Notifications to us by email.

Email Address : legal@mintgolddust.ioSubject/Heading of Email : Mint Gøld Dust DMCA Take Down Notification

DMCA Notices Must Comply With These Requirements

Official DMCA notices must provide all the information described above in order to be effective. If your DMCA notice is ineffective, we may ignore it and have no obligation to remove the allegedly infringing content.

Penalties for Violating These Guidelines

Failure to abide by these Copyright Guidelines and Policies may result in, without limitation, suspension of minting privileges, deletion of your account, revocation of your right to access the Mint Gøld Dust platform, delisting of your art works, or other penalties deemed suitable by the Mint Gøld Dust team. Mint Gøld Dust has the unilateral authority and discretion to remove, suspend, or revoke Artists' access to the Mint Gøld Dust platform for posting unoriginal or infringing content, whether or not a credible "fair use" defense exists.