Prior to the introduction of NFTs, I listed the sale of my images in two editions: a traditional hand-printed limited edition carbon print of one-hundred 11×14 images, and a separate licensed image edition consisting of eleven total images (ten prints plus and artists proof). The licensed image edition guaranteed the collector flexibility in sizing, media type, etc. With the advent of NFTs, I am re-writing the licensed image edition contract into the NFT–this continues the tradition of flexibility while guaranteeing provenance. Currently, my NFTs are available on the OpenSea platform.

What am I buying when I purchase a RareAbstract NFT? You are purchasing an NFT and a unique licensed digital asset. In this case, the digital asset is an exclusive license to display a photographic image created by photographer Cameron R Neilson. 

Do I own the image? You own the NFT which represents the high resolution digital image and associated license. The license gives you rights to display a single instance the high-resolution image for personal use, or as part of a collection. The NFT is proof of title that you own a limited and rare part of the licensed image edition.

Can I purchase all tokens form an edition for a given image and essentially corner access to the edition? Yes, you are still responsible to the licensing agreement regarding display and use of the image, but purchasing all available licenses essentially means no one else will have access to, our ability to display, the high-resolution image.

What happens when I sell the NFT? When you sell the NFT, the associated image and license are transferred with the sale.

Will your Licensed Image Editions always be limited to ten and an artists proof? There will never be more than ten plus an artists proof of any image. Some images are even limited to five or one.

What do you mean by an artists proof? Prior to NFTs, I sold licensed image editions with an accompanying print. If the print were damaged, needed to be resized, etc., the owner would return the print and I would send an artists proof as the replacement. One accepted by the owner, the artist proof became the proper licensed edition number and the other image would be destroyed. Since I like licensing to a maximum limit of ten, I needed to have the artists proof provision.

Can I sell the print and not the NFT? No. Though technically you could, it wouldn’t enhance the value of the digital asset–particularly since the license stipulates that you can only display one instance of the high-resolution digital image at any one time. 

Can I transfer the license and sell the NFT? No. The license is linked directly to the digital asset. Unlocking the high resolution image is acceptance of this responsibility.

Does owning the NFT mean I own the copyright? This is tricky, but the answer is no. The US Copyright office has upheld various cases involving the creation of, and subsequent nature and use of derivative art. Upon creation of the digital image, it is protected by Copyright law. My images are all registered with the US Copyright Office. Transferring copyright is possible, but is an arduous process. I simply offer licenses to images through NFTs that are rare (under ten) and provide you with protections and ability to display the image. To read a more technical paper on this, please see this article.

Why are you selling through NFTs rather that the traditional print route? Selling an NFT and associated licensed image gives you total flexibility in displaying the image. Print and display technology change, as do lifestyle needs. Say for instance you have a gigantic wall that you’ve filled with a printed image, but you’d like to move it to a smaller wall: simple, get a smaller print made, destroy the big print (you still own the license to display the image, and it’s still the sequenced number from the edition). Another benefit would be if the printed image is destroyed from fire, water damage, etc. Simply get a new print made.

Why the name RareAbstracts? Besides the Straight Up series of images that this website displays, I have several other collections of abstract that I will eventually drop to OpenSea. Images will be minted in editions of