Terms of Use
Contents
- About the Platform
- Acceptance of Terms
- The NFU Network
- What the Platform Is — and Is Not
- NFU Positions — Node Ownership
- Founder Positions
- Transfer Fee Redistribution
- Non-Custodial Operation
- No Financial Advice
- Blockchain Transactions are Final
- User Conduct
- Intellectual Property
- Limitation of Liability
- Third-Party Services
- Changes to These Terms
- Governing Law
- Contact
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 is a peer-to-peer marketplace and utility infrastructure. It is not a financial product, collective investment scheme, or investment service. No position on the platform constitutes a security, share, bond, unit in a collective investment scheme, or any other regulated financial instrument under UK law or any other jurisdiction.
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:
- Infrastructure for peer-to-peer listing and sale of physical collectibles
- On-ledger provenance records for physical items
- A self-organising hierarchy of ownable marketplace positions
- A discretionary loyalty perk programme for hierarchy node holders and founder donors
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 franchise position or market licence in a geographically organised marketplace — not an investment in any entity or fund.
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 positions are donations made to support the development of a working platform. They are not investments. No financial return is promised, guaranteed, or implied. The associated loyalty perk is a voluntary gesture of gratitude from the platform operator — not a legal obligation, contracted return, or profit share.
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.
XRPL escrow transactions follow the escrow protocol's own conditions. The platform does not override or control escrow resolution beyond the conditions set at escrow creation.
11. User Conduct
You agree not to use the platform to:
- List items that are stolen, fraudulently described, or illegal to sell
- Conduct market manipulation or wash trading
- 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
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. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. Governing Law
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
17. Contact
Questions about these terms may be directed to: legal@worldwide-emporium.net (or via the contact link on the home page).
DRAFT NOTICE: These terms have been prepared in good faith but have not yet been reviewed by a qualified solicitor. They should not be relied upon for legal purposes. A formal legal review is planned prior to public launch. Users engaging with this platform during the preview period do so on the understanding that these terms are provisional.