Terms & Conditions

1. About these Terms

These Terms & Conditions govern your access to and use of Art Vault, including the website, applications, marketplace, digital registry, verification, certificate, provenance, ownership-transfer, creator, seller and collector services. By creating an account, registering or publishing a work, buying a work, accepting a transfer, or otherwise using a feature to which these Terms apply, you agree to be bound by them.

2. Eligibility, accounts and security

You must provide materially accurate account information and must not impersonate another person or misrepresent your authority. You are responsible for keeping your credentials and devices reasonably secure. Creator and seller functionality may require subscription status, payment-provider onboarding, identity verification or other eligibility checks. Collector access does not automatically confer permission to sell.

3. What Art Vault provides

Art Vault combines marketplace functionality with a digital artwork and photography registry. Features may include registration, permanent digital identity, Vault IDs, QR verification, marketplace listings, edition records, certificates, provenance, ownership records, transfers, digital downloads and personal Art Vault collections. Marketplace visibility and registry status are separate: a work may cease to be offered for sale while its registry record continues.

4. Creator and seller responsibilities

By uploading, registering or listing a work, you represent that you are entitled to do so and that information you provide is materially accurate. You must not knowingly register counterfeit, stolen, unlawfully copied or rights-infringing material. You are responsible for titles, descriptions, prices, edition information, categories, tags and representations concerning authorship, scarcity, provenance, ownership and value.

5. Registration and permanent records

Registration creates an Art Vault record intended to support durable identification and history. Registration does not by itself constitute an independent legal determination of copyright ownership, authorship, title, authenticity or market value. Where a work has completed transactions, ownership changes, certificates or provenance events, Art Vault may retain associated registry information to preserve the integrity of those records.

6. Marketplace listings

Publishing a work makes it eligible for marketplace presentation subject to account status, technical requirements, moderation, availability and seller-payment readiness. Art Vault does not guarantee visibility, traffic, search position, a sale or any commercial outcome. Purchase functionality may be unavailable where a seller cannot receive payments or where a work is withdrawn, sold out, suspended or otherwise unavailable.

7. Editions and availability

Creators are responsible for selecting the correct edition type and, for limited editions, an accurate edition size. Where Art Vault assigns edition numbers to completed purchases, creators must not knowingly represent a greater supply as the same limited edition than the registered edition size permits. Unsold edition capacity is not equivalent to completed sales.

8. Withdrawing a work from sale

An authorised creator may use the withdrawal function provided by Art Vault. Withdrawal may remove the work from marketplace browsing, disable future purchase functionality and disable or hide the associated commerce listing. The work may remain in the creator’s Art Vault and remain accessible through registry, verification, certificate, ownership or provenance functionality.

Completed sales cannot be withdrawn by the creator

Any copy or edition already sold remains associated with the relevant completed transaction and collector record. A creator cannot use withdrawal to delete, revoke or rewrite a buyer’s completed purchase, ownership record, edition number, certificate or provenance merely because the creator no longer wishes to offer the remaining work for sale. Withdrawal affects future commercial availability; it is not a mechanism for rewriting historical registry events.

9. Purchases and payment completion

A purchase is not completed merely because checkout has started. Payment must be successfully processed and confirmed. Art Vault may show a transaction as processing while confirmation is pending. Where a completed payment creates an edition-specific ownership record, that purchased edition may be represented separately from the creator’s master registry record.

10. Seller payments, fees and Stripe

Seller payment functionality may be provided through Stripe or another disclosed provider. Sellers may be required to complete that provider’s onboarding, identity, compliance and payout requirements. Art Vault does not control a payment provider’s independent verification decisions. Where Art Vault advertises 0% Art Vault commission on artwork sales, this means Art Vault does not deduct an Art Vault sales commission under that model; third-party processing charges, refunds, disputes, taxes or other externally imposed costs may still apply.

11. Digital files, previews, watermarks and QR identity

Art Vault may provide tools to watermark marketplace previews while preserving an uploaded original and may provide an option to embed an Art Vault QR identity in a purchased digital download. A QR code or Vault ID is an identifier and verification route; it does not itself transfer copyright or grant a broader intellectual-property licence.

12. Ownership and transfers

Art Vault may permit recorded ownership to be transferred using account, email, token or other verification mechanisms. Users must not initiate or accept a transfer dishonestly or without authority. An Art Vault ownership transfer updates the digital registry record; it does not automatically determine every question of legal title where external facts or agreements are relevant, and it does not automatically transfer copyright.

13. Certificates, verification and provenance

Certificates and verification pages reflect information held by Art Vault at the relevant time. Provenance records are intended to preserve meaningful registry events and may include registration, ownership and transfer information. Users must not fabricate, alter or misuse Art Vault certificates, QR codes, Vault IDs or provenance information to create a false representation.

14. Intellectual property and permissions

You retain the rights you already hold in content you submit. You grant Art Vault a non-exclusive permission to host, process, reproduce, resize, display and technically modify submitted material as reasonably necessary to operate the registry, marketplace, previews, watermarks, QR-enabled downloads, certificates, verification pages and related functions. This permission may continue as reasonably necessary to maintain permanent registry and completed-transaction records described in these Terms.

15. Prohibited content and conduct

You must not use Art Vault for unlawful activity, infringement, fraud, deceptive provenance, impersonation, malicious code, unauthorised access, interference with the service, payment manipulation or the registration or sale of material where doing so violates applicable law or third-party rights. You must not attempt to circumvent seller verification, purchase controls, withdrawal status, edition limits, authentication or access controls.

16. Moderation, restriction and suspension

Art Vault may restrict, hide, suspend or remove marketplace access to content or accounts where reasonably necessary for security, legal compliance, rights protection, payment integrity, abuse prevention or enforcement of these Terms. Registry history associated with legitimate completed transactions may be preserved even where marketplace access is restricted.

17. Service availability and changes

Art Vault is an evolving service. Features, interfaces, technical requirements and integrations may be added, changed or discontinued. We aim to operate the service reliably but do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free availability. Maintenance, third-party outages, payment-provider incidents, device limitations, connectivity and events outside reasonable control may affect availability.

18. Registry and marketplace disclaimers

Art Vault provides technology for recording, presenting and transferring information. Unless expressly stated otherwise, Art Vault does not independently appraise works, guarantee market or resale value, or provide a universal legal determination of authorship, copyright ownership, authenticity or title. Collectors should use their own judgement when purchasing.

19. Liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including rights and remedies that applicable consumer law does not permit to be excluded. Subject to those rights, Art Vault is not responsible for losses caused solely by inaccurate information supplied by users, independent payment-provider decisions, unauthorised conduct outside Art Vault’s reasonable control or events Art Vault could not reasonably prevent.

20. Privacy and personal information

Personal information is handled in accordance with Art Vault’s applicable privacy information. Registry and provenance functionality may necessarily display certain non-sensitive information associated with a work, creator, owner or transaction where that information forms part of the service’s verification purpose.

21. Ending your use of Art Vault

You may stop using Art Vault subject to available account-management functionality. Ending use does not necessarily erase records that must reasonably be retained for completed transactions, ownership, certificates, provenance, fraud prevention, legal obligations or permanent-registry integrity. Creator subscription cancellation, where applicable, is distinct from cancellation or reversal of completed artwork sales.

22. Changes to these Terms

Art Vault may update these Terms as the service develops or where legal, regulatory, security, commercial or technical changes require it. The current version will be published on this page with an updated revision date. Where a change materially affects users and additional notice is appropriate, Art Vault may provide notice through the service or another reasonable channel.

23. General provisions

If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent permitted by law. A delay in enforcing a right does not automatically waive that right. Headings are for convenience and do not limit the clauses beneath them. You may not use a transfer or assignment to misrepresent an Art Vault ownership record or evade account restrictions.

24. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, subject to any mandatory rights you have under law applicable to you as a consumer. Nothing in these Terms removes rights or remedies that applicable law does not permit you to waive. Users are encouraged to contact Art Vault first where a dispute may be capable of informal resolution.

25. Contact

Questions about these Terms or the operation of Art Vault can be submitted through the contact or support facilities provided on the Art Vault website.