The advent of NFTs propelled digital art from an online curiosity to the forefront of gallery and museum shows and has allowed digital artists to take their rightful place on the world stage. NFTs have also spawned entirely new ways for creators to monetize the value of their works. Blockchain-based transactions offer unprecedented liquidity and can facilitate collaborative revenue models such as profit sharing between artist and collector. These new modalities go to the very heart of the revolution in cooperation that is Web3.

The problem: Unfortunately, NFT technology was still new and underdeveloped when the art world adopted it and the results have been painful. NFT art is too easily stolen through fraud, hacks, and smart contract exploits. Likewise, licensing agreements are unclear or missing entirely, while royalty collection is being thwarted by big, centralized marketplaces that profit by cutting out the artists. Digital art NFTs need to evolve to fulfill their promise.

The solution: We are bringing legal enforcement to digital art with JTC Ordinals. Our ordinals are “NFTs with benefits” that include on-chain licensing agreements, incorporated artworks, enforcement of artists’ royalties and copyrights, as well as property protection for owners. With JTC Ordinals, a one-of-a-kind piece from a renowned digital artist like Grant Yun enjoys the same effective protections as physical art like Warhol, Picasso, or Nina Chanel Abney. This integration of the art and legal remedies on-chain will unlock immense value for both artists and collectors, making art ownership more accessible to everyone.

So let’s dive into some frequently asked questions:

What are JTC Ordinals?

JTC Ordinals are a new type of NFT (non-fungible token) with revolutionary features unique to our blockchain. When using JTC Ordinals to mint art NFTs, artists embed technology to enforce their legal rights if a buyer violates licensing terms or fails to pay royalties. These same protections help collectors recover their tokens in the event of scams, hacks, and lost private keys. No other token offers these vital capabilities.

What are the benefits of JTC Ordinals for artists?

With JTC Ordinals, artists can take full advantage of disruptive NFT technologies while maintaining full legal protection for their works. For example, Web3 enables new revenue-sharing models like royalty agreements with collectors, but these agreements have proven impossible to enforce as a practical matter. With JTC Ordinals, artists enforce their agreements independently. There is no need to trust or rely on marketplaces whose interests are not perfectly aligned.

An additional benefit is that JTC Ordinals incorporate all of the licensing terms the artist requires. This way, the agreement can be viewed on an explorer so there is no dispute or confusion about the artist’s rights. Clear agreements give creators more control over their works and ensure that their rights are respected by others throughout the life of their creations.

What benefits do JTC Ordinals offer to digital art collectors?

JTC Ordinals are the ideal way for artists to protect their collectors, fetching better prices for their art.

Thefts and frauds are an unfortunate and all too common hazard for collectors investing in digital assets. With current-generation NFTs and ordinals on BTC, the collectors are out of luck — it is essentially impossible to recover digital art once it has left the collector’s wallet. The market discounts the risk of these losses into sale prices, reducing returns for both the artist and collectors who seek appreciation in the value of their collections.

Digital assets on the JuratBTC blockchain are recoverable in court and arbitration, reducing the losses from a crime and also discouraging criminals from targeting the assets in the first place. This revolutionary advance helps artists unlock the value of their works and is a unique safety feature for collectors.

How does the JuratBTC Blockchain offer legal protection for digital art?

JTC Ordinals are minted on JuratBTC, a unique layer-1 blockchain that connects to courts using a protocol called Jurat. If someone breaks the law or breaches an agreement, the judge can issue an order and the JuratBTC blockchain will follow it. For example, if an NFT buyer fails to pay royalties to the artist, a judge can seize the NFT until the royalties are paid. Similarly, if a hacker steals an NFT, a judge can order it returned to the collector.

To learn more about Jurat’s court connection technology please visit https://jurat.io/whitepaper/

Can I hold my JTC Ordinals in the same wallet as my JTC?

No. Ordinals work by minting data into small units of the blockchain’s native coin. Accordingly, your JTC Ordinals could be mistaken for JTC coins and accidentally sent along with normal transactions. To avoid this, you must create a separate wallet to be used just for your ordinals and keep them in that wallet when minting and trading.

What are the costs associated with minting JTC Ordinals?

Minting costs vary with the amount of data that the ordinal contains. In general, it will cost you 5x-10x less to mint a given amount of data in a JTC Ordinal than using BTC. And JTC Ordinals give you unique and valuable functions not available elsewhere. Creating higher values at a lower cost is a win/win for minters.

Are JTC Ordinals better than NFTs for ensuring the authenticity of digital art?

Yes. Unlike NFTs, JTC Ordinals incorporate digital art into the token itself. This data is written directly to the JTC Blockchain, where it becomes immutable. Most NFTs only include a URL pointing to the digital art data on some other server, where it could be erased or replaced. In other words, JTC Ordinals ensure the authenticity of the art they convey, NFTs do not.

How do I include licensing terms and royalty rights for my JTC Ordinals?

The JTC Ordinal format establishes the licensing and royalty rights in the metadata for each ordinal. Licensing agreements are inscribed immutably to the JTC Blockchain where each receives a unique inscription ID. An ordinal can be minted under that license by including the license inscription ID in its metadata, eliminating any doubt as to the governing terms. The metadata also states whether a royalty has been reserved and the amount of the royalty.

When choosing licensing terms, you can opt-in for licenses that are accessible in our UI. These include a personal license, a commercial exclusive license, and a commercial non-exclusive license.

You can also create your own custom license agreement to govern your relationship with your collectors. Just mint an inscription of your licensing terms to the JTC Blockchain. You can then reference the inscription ID in the metadata of any ordinal you mint thereafter.

What happens in case of a legal dispute involving JTC Ordinals?

In the event of a legal dispute, Jurat will generate a unique ID for you to provide to a court or arbitrator. JuratBTC nodes will understand this ID and follow a court order which includes it.

You can learn more about the court enforcement process by visiting our technology page.