Terms of Use

Last updated: August 2026  ·  Version: Draft 1.2  ·  Governing law: England & Wales

1. About the Platform

The Collectors Emporium (worldwide-emporium.net) is a marketplace platform operated as part of the Non Fungible Utilities Network (the "NFU Network"). It provides infrastructure for the creation, listing, and peer-to-peer transfer of Non Fungible Utility tokens ("NFUs") on the XRP Ledger, representing either physical collectible items or ownership positions within a seven-level geographic and category hierarchy.

The platform is currently in preview. All features described may not be fully active.

2. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using any page of this platform — including browsing, connecting a wallet, listing an item, or purchasing a position — you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, you must not use the platform.

These terms apply to all users: collectors, hierarchy node owners, founders, and visitors.

3. The NFU Network

The Non Fungible Utilities Network is an expanding infrastructure of utility-driven marketplaces, beginning with The Collectors Emporium. The network may, over time, encompass further platforms ("verticals") across physical goods, services, and commerce — all sharing the same geographic hierarchy, transfer-fee architecture, and IPFS provenance infrastructure.

Founder positions (see Section 6) are positions within the NFU Network as a whole — not solely within any single vertical.

4. What the Platform Is — and Is Not

The platform does not:

• Hold or manage funds on behalf of users
• Promise, guarantee, or imply any financial return
• Constitute investment advice or financial promotion
• Offer interests in any pooled fund or managed portfolio
• Represent shares or equity in any company or legal entity

The platform does provide:

• An interactive geographic and category directory of physical and digital assets, organised into seven ownership levels
• Infrastructure for peer-to-peer listing, QR-linked display, and sale of physical collectibles
• A portable point-of-sale facility: each listed item's QR code provides item information, provenance, pricing, XRP payment, and escrow initiation without dedicated hardware
• A portable auction facility enabling simultaneous physical and remote participation
• Immutable on-ledger and IPFS provenance records for physical items — condition, ownership history, and transaction record
• A self-organising hierarchy of ownable territorial franchise positions with associated utility tools
• A discretionary loyalty perk allocation for hierarchy node holders and founder donors, proportional to actual transaction activity in their territory

5. NFU Positions — Node Ownership

Geographic and category hierarchy positions (Levels 2–6: regions, countries, districts, categories, sub-categories) and individual item NFUs (Level 7) are utility positions within the marketplace infrastructure. They are analogous to a territorial franchise position in an organised marketplace — not an investment in any entity or fund.

A node position provides operating infrastructure for its territory: territory browsing, QR-linked item exhibition, escrow-protected transactions, portable auction facility, provenance records, and territorial affiliate identity. These tools function independently of whether any sale occurs within the territory. Any perk allocation arising from transaction activity is a consequence of the territory being used — it is not the primary purpose of the position, nor is it guaranteed.

Node positions may be claimed via donation to the platform. The donation activates the position on the XRP Ledger as a thank-you perk. It is a genuine donation to support a working platform; it is not a purchase of a financial instrument, and no financial return is promised or implied.

Self-Service Claiming

Unclaimed hierarchy positions may be claimed directly via the Browse page. The first user to claim a node owns that position. Claiming a node does not guarantee any particular level of future marketplace activity within it.

Transferability

NFU positions are transferable on the secondary market. A new holder inherits the associated perks. The platform does not operate a secondary market and makes no representation about the secondary market value of any position.

No Guaranteed Activity

Holding a hierarchy node does not guarantee that any transactions will occur beneath it. Transfer fee allocations are strictly proportional to actual marketplace activity in that node's path.

6. Founder Positions

Founder NFUs are minted at three tiers (Gold, Silver, Bronze), each carrying a fixed weighted position in the platform's discretionary transfer fee redistribution pool. Founder positions:

• Are permanently recorded on the XRP Ledger at mint time
• Have tier weight locked immutably in IPFS metadata
• Are transferable on the secondary market; the new holder inherits all perks
• Do not carry voting rights, equity, or contractual claims of any kind
• Do not constitute membership in any collective investment scheme

Past distributions to the founder pool (if any) do not predict future distributions. Loyalty allocations are entirely dependent on actual marketplace transaction volume.

The platform operator reserves the right to discontinue discretionary redistribution at any time without obligation to any founder. This right is held alongside a statement of genuine intent to continue redistribution for as long as the platform operates and generates transfer fee revenue.

7. Transfer Fee Redistribution

The XRP Ledger automatically withholds a protocol-level transfer fee on each NFU transfer. This fee is collected by the issuing wallet. The platform operator makes a discretionary, voluntary decision to redistribute a portion of these collected fees to: hierarchy node holders (regions, countries, districts, categories), the founder pool, and (in future) an active seller rewards pool.

This redistribution is:

• Discretionary — not a contractual obligation
• Volume-dependent — entirely proportional to marketplace transaction volume
• Not an investment return — it is a loyalty reward for community support
• Not guaranteed to continue — the operator may adjust or cease redistribution

The blockchain enforces the collection of transfer fees; the platform software handles the routing of discretionary redistribution payments. These are separate mechanisms.

8. Non-Custodial Operation

The platform is non-custodial. The operator does not at any time hold, control, access, or manage user funds, wallet keys, or private information. All transactions are initiated and signed by the user's own wallet (Xaman, Crossmark, or equivalent XRPL-compatible wallet). The operator has no ability to reverse, freeze, or redirect user funds.

You are solely responsible for the security of your wallet and seed phrase. Loss of a wallet seed is irrecoverable; the platform operator cannot restore access.

9. No Financial Advice

Nothing on this platform constitutes financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Nothing should be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any NFU position. You should seek independent professional advice before making any financial decision.

The platform operator is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or any equivalent regulatory body.

10. Blockchain Transactions are Final

Transactions submitted to the XRP Ledger are irreversible once confirmed. The platform operator cannot reverse, undo, or modify any on-ledger transaction. By initiating a transaction, you accept its finality.

Escrow and Peer-to-Peer Physical Sales

The platform provides an XRPL native escrow facility for physical item purchases. The escrow is a direct transaction between the buyer's wallet and the seller's wallet. The platform operator is not a party to the escrow, does not hold escrow funds, and is not an escrow agent.

The escrow flow operates as follows:

• The buyer creates the escrow, locking XRP on the ledger with the seller as the designated recipient.
• The seller ships the physical item. After the FinishAfter window, the seller collects payment by submitting an EscrowFinish transaction. The buyer's action is not required for the seller to collect.
• The buyer may confirm receipt early, which also releases payment to the seller.
• If the buyer is dissatisfied before payment is collected, the buyer may raise a dispute via the platform interface. The dispute is recorded as a timestamped platform record. The escrow remains locked on the ledger. Both parties are directed to resolve the matter by private agreement, civil arbitration, or court action.
• If no resolution is reached within the CancelAfter window, the buyer may cancel the escrow and reclaim their XRP. This is the remedy for genuine non-delivery — not a default outcome.

The platform does not adjudicate disputes. It provides the transaction infrastructure, the dispute record, and the XRP Ledger evidence of fund status. Physical item condition and delivery are matters between the parties. The XRP Ledger provides an irrefutable, tamper-proof record of all fund movements and transaction timestamps.

By using the escrow facility, both buyer and seller agree that on completion of the EscrowCreate transaction, physical delivery and digital confirmation obligations transfer to the respective parties, and the platform's infrastructural role is complete.

11. User Conduct and Lawful Use

You agree not to use the platform to:

• List, sell, or transfer items that are stolen, fraudulently described, counterfeit, or illegal to sell
• Use funds derived from criminal activity, money laundering, or the proceeds of crime
• Transact in breach of UK, EU, UN, or US financial sanctions
• Conduct market manipulation, wash trading, or price fixing
• Impersonate other users or entities
• Circumvent or attempt to circumvent platform security mechanisms
• Use automated tools to spam or overload the platform infrastructure
• Engage in any activity that violates applicable law in your jurisdiction

By initiating a purchase transaction, you confirm: (a) that funds used are lawfully obtained; and (b) that you are not subject to UK, EU, UN, or US financial sanctions. By listing an item, you confirm that you are the lawful owner of the item and have the right to sell it.

For transactions above a threshold set by the platform operator (configurable), an additional source-of-funds declaration is displayed. This is a proportionate anti-money laundering measure consistent with the platform's non-custodial, peer-to-peer architecture.

The platform operator reserves the right to delist NFUs or restrict access where there is credible evidence of misuse, without notice and without liability.

12. Prohibited Content and Conduct

You must not use the platform to list, sell, or associate with any NFU content that:

• Is illegal under the laws of England and Wales or your jurisdiction
• Infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party
• Is counterfeit, fraudulently represented, or stolen
• Depicts or promotes child sexual abuse, exploitation, or any sexual content involving minors
• Constitutes hate speech, harassment, or content designed to incite violence against any person or group
• Involves endangered species or items prohibited under CITES or equivalent regulations
• Is subject to export controls or sanctions
• Violates any applicable consumer protection law
• Is otherwise offensive, harmful, or contrary to public policy

You must not attempt to manipulate the platform's hierarchy, revenue share calculations, or transaction mechanisms through fraudulent means, Sybil attacks, or wash trading, or attempt to reverse-engineer, circumvent, or interfere with the platform's technical operations.

13. Content Moderation and Admin Burn

The platform operates a notice-and-takedown procedure. Users, rights holders, or law enforcement agencies may report an NFU containing prohibited content using the contact details in Section 19.

All Item NFUs (Level 7) are minted with the XRPL tfBurnable flag, which permits the platform's admin wallet to permanently destroy ("burn") the NFU at any time, regardless of current ownership and without the current owner's consent. We will exercise this capability only: upon receipt of a valid notice of prohibited content from a rights holder or law enforcement agency; where we independently determine that an NFU contains prohibited content; or where required by court order or applicable law.

Burning an NFU removes it from the active XRP Ledger. IPFS metadata associated with a burned NFU may persist on the distributed IPFS network but will no longer be linked to a valid on-ledger record. We will not compensate any user for a burn carried out in accordance with this Section; where a burn is carried out in error, we will endeavour to compensate the affected user on reasonable commercial terms. We separately reserve the right to refuse to list or to remove from display any content at our discretion, independently of the burn mechanism.

14. Intellectual Property

The platform's design, code, branding, and documentation are the intellectual property of the platform operator, protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The NFU Network concept, hierarchy architecture, and associated materials are original works of the operator.

Users retain ownership of item metadata and images they upload. By uploading to IPFS via this platform, you grant a perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide licence to display that content on the platform. Content stored on IPFS is publicly accessible by its content hash and cannot be deleted once pinned.

15. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the platform operator shall not be liable for:

• Loss of funds resulting from user error, wallet compromise, or phishing
• Failure of the XRP Ledger, IPFS network, or any third-party service
• Loss of access to NFUs due to lost wallet credentials
• Fluctuations in the XRP exchange rate
• Any loss of expected loyalty rewards or transfer fee allocations due to low transaction volume
• Actions of third-party sellers, buyers, or hierarchy node holders

The platform is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Use is entirely at your own risk.

16. Third-Party Services

The platform integrates with third-party services including the XRP Ledger (operated by a decentralised network of validators), Filebase (IPFS pinning), Cloudflare Pages (hosting), and XRPL wallet applications (Xaman, Crossmark). The platform operator is not responsible for the availability, security, or conduct of these services.

Links to external sites (Bithomp, NFTmaster, XRPL Explorer) are provided for information only. The operator does not endorse or control those sites.

17. Changes to These Terms

These terms may be updated from time to time. The date of last update appears at the top of this page. Continued use of the platform after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

18. Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising from your use of the platform shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

This platform is operated in the United Kingdom and governed by UK law. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that your use of this platform — including any donations, transactions, acquisition of node positions, or other activities — complies with the laws and regulations of your own jurisdiction. The platform does not provide legal, financial, or tax advice and makes no representation as to the legality of its use in any jurisdiction other than England and Wales.

No restriction is placed on users by geographic origin. Users in all jurisdictions are welcome. By using the platform, you confirm that doing so is lawful under the laws applicable to you.

19. Contact

Questions about these terms may be directed to: [email protected] (or via the contact link on the home page).