How to certify a digital artwork and its editions

A digital artwork certificate has to identify something that can be copied without apparent loss, moved from one medium to another, and depends on software or equipment that age. A document limited to the title, the artist and a reference image leaves unresolved which file constitutes the work, which edition it represents, what can be replaced and what rights come with the delivery.

The certificate does not replace the technical data sheet, the invoice or the contract. The general guide on technical data sheet, certificate and invoice tells these functions apart. Here that distinction is applied to born-digital works, video, software and installations with technological components.

Before issuing the certificate

First, keep a master artwork record that states the identifier, title, versions, edition and history. The certificate must derive from that record, not become the only source of information.

Check:

• who has authority to issue it;
• which version of the work is being certified;
• which files and components make up the copy;
• whether the work is unique, part of an edition or allows variable executions;
• the difference between the preservation master, the delivered copy and the exhibition copy;
• what documentation and rights the other party receives.

No general, mandatory legal format for a certificate of authenticity for digital artwork has been located in Spain. Its force depends on who issues it, on the precision of what is declared and on the documentation that supports it.

What the certificate identifies

Include at least:

1. Issuer: name, capacity in which they act and professional details.
2. Artist: name used to attribute the work.
3. Identifier: permanent inventory number and the certificate’s own number.
4. Title and date: current title, date or period of creation and, where applicable, version.
5. Description: medium, duration, installation dimensions, behaviour, and components.
6. Edition: copy number, total size, artist’s proofs and other reserved copies.
7. Files: names, formats, sizes, and checksums (hashes) of the delivered or constituent files.
8. Physical components: media, equipment, devices, objects, or packaging included.
9. Environment: software, operating system, libraries, services, or required equipment.
10. Declaration: what exactly is stated about authorship, authenticity, edition and the relationship to the files.
11. Issuance: place, date and signature or signing mechanism.
12. Annexes: image, technical data sheet, delivery inventory, instructions and licence.

Do not put all the instructions inside the certificate. A short document can refer to annexes identified by version and date.

File, hash, medium and environment

The hash links the certificate to specific bits. Calculate a checksum, for example SHA-256, for the files that must remain identical, and record the algorithm and the full value.

The guide Preserving a digital artwork explains how to separate the source file, preservation master, exhibition copy and derivatives. In the certificate, state which of these categories each file belongs to.

An identical hash indicates that two files contain the same bits. This check presupposes that the same algorithm is used and that the values have been calculated correctly. By itself it does not prove:

• that the file was created by the artist;
• that the declared date is true;
• that the issuer has authority;
• that the work did not already include third-party material;
• that the person who publishes the hash is the owner or author.

The medium is not enough either. A disc, a flash drive or a computer may form part of the copy, serve only to deliver it or be replaceable equipment. Say which.

The same applies to the environment. In its checklist for computer-based artwork with an artist-provided computer, the Guggenheim says the museum should try to obtain, among other things, complete copies of the libraries and plug-ins used and written installation and start-up instructions. The document itself presents this as a starting point and says each work must be assessed individually. It is an institutional practice for that acquisition procedure, not a general obligation. For your certificate, the conclusion is that software, versions and dependencies must appear in it or be linked from it.

Edition, copy and artist’s proof

An edition needs rules that are set in advance and applied consistently. Record:

• total edition size;
• copy number;
• number and type of artist’s proofs;
• whether all copies contain the same files;
• whether the installation allows variations;
• who controls replacements;
• whether another edition may be created in a different medium, resolution, or configuration.

Do not confuse an edition with the number of downloads, tokens or backups. A technical copy intended for preservation or reinstallation does not necessarily constitute another commercial copy, provided the contract and the record make this clear. The guide Buying digital art deals with the same issue from the buyer's side.

In a video acquisition procedure updated in November 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art requested, once the questionnaire was received and the museum decided to proceed, a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist or their authorised representative, with the size of the edition and the number representing the acquisition, in addition to detailed installation instructions, a non-exclusive licence, and a native preservation master. This is a documented institutional practice, not a general obligation.

Physical and digital components

Make a separate list:

Component	Function	Included in the transfer	Replaceable	Identifier
Preservation master	Preservation	As per contract	Not without a record	name and hash
Exhibition copy	Reproduction	Yes	Yes, under conditions	name and hash
Computer	Execution	Depends on the work	As per instructions	make, model, serial number
Screen or projector	Presentation	May not be included	Usually	minimum specification
Certificate	Identification	Yes	Reissuable under control	unique number

Do not state that a component is replaceable if the historical, sculptural or conceptual character of the equipment is part of the work.

Rights and delivery

By itself, the certificate does not transfer exploitation rights. Buying a copy and assigning rights are separate decisions.

Article 56.1 of the Intellectual Property Act distinguishes ownership of the medium from exploitation rights: acquiring the medium in which a work is embodied does not, on that basis alone, transfer those rights. In a transaction involving digital files or tokens, the contract must specify separately which element is transferred and which rights are assigned or licensed. This guide does not automatically extend the legal regime of the physical medium to the file or the token.

Under Article 43.1, an assignment is limited to the right or rights assigned, to the modes of exploitation expressly provided for, and to the time and territorial scope determined. If there is a licence, refer from the certificate to a document or an express clause. The guide Buying digital art explains what is transferred and what should be fixed on delivery.

Migrations, replacements and a new hash

Migrating a video, recompiling a program or replacing a component produces different files and therefore different hashes. Do not delete the previous hash or rewrite the certificate as if nothing had happened.

Create an annex or intervention record with:

• date and reason;
• previous file or component;
• new file or component;
• method used;
• person responsible;
• checks carried out;
• approval from the artist or the designated authority;
• hashes before and after;
• known effects on appearance or behaviour.

If the change alters an essential property, first decide whether the work remains the same copy, becomes an authorised version or is a different work.

What a token does not prove

A token records a unit and specific operations on a blockchain. The EUIPO guidelines on trade mark classification describe NFTs as unique digital certificates registered on a blockchain, which may be used to register an interest in an item, citing the example of the 'purported ownership' of a digital artwork. They add that, like conventional certificates, they refer to something other than themselves, and that is why a trade mark application must specify the type of asset authenticated by the NFT. These are criteria for classifying goods and services, not a rule on the authenticity of a work or on the rights a token conveys.

A token can therefore help record an issuance or a transfer, but by itself it does not prove:

• authorship;
• authenticity of the file;
• intellectual property;
• acquisition of exploitation rights;
• permanence of the linked file;
• correspondence between the wallet and a civil identity.

The guide How OBJKT works explains the difference between work, file, metadata, token, contract, and platform.

If you use a blockchain, the certificate should identify the network, the contract, the token identifier, the issuing wallet and the file location, and explain what contractual relationship exists between the token and the work.

Certifying is not registering

Intellectual property in a work belongs to its author by the mere fact of its creation, under Article 1 of the Intellectual Property Act. Registration is possible but not constitutive, and Article 145.3 establishes the presumption, unless proven otherwise, that registered rights exist and belong to their holder as determined by the entry. See how to register a work with the Intellectual Property Registry.

A private certificate does not have that effect, nor does it replace the contract or the invoice. Each instrument proves different facts.

Field template

CERTIFICATE NO.:

ISSUER AND CAPACITY:

ARTIST:

ARTWORK IDENTIFIER:

TITLE:

DATE:

VERSION:

MEDIUM AND DESCRIPTION:

EDITION:

COPY:

ARTIST’S PROOFS:

CERTIFIED FILES:

name | format | size | algorithm | hash

PHYSICAL COMPONENTS:

ENVIRONMENT AND DEPENDENCIES:

ATTACHED DOCUMENTS:

RIGHTS OR LICENCE: reference document

AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT:

PLACE AND DATE OF ISSUE:

SIGNATURE:

Checklist

• The certificate identifies a specific version.
• Files, components and media are listed separately.
• The edition and the copy are unambiguous.
• Artist’s proofs are accounted for in the edition.
• Hashes include the algorithm and the corresponding file.
• The environment required to run the work is documented.
• Preservation copies are not confused with commercial copies.
• The licence or assignment of rights is set out in a separate document or an express clause.
• There is a procedure for migrations and replacements.
• The token, if there is one, is not presented as proof in itself.
• The issuer keeps a copy and the history of certificates.

Further reading

• Technical data sheet, certificate and invoice: what each document does.
• Preserving a digital artwork.
• Buying digital art: file, rights, certificate and preservation.

Sources

• Guggenheim, Acquisition Checklist: Computer-Based Artwork with Artist-Provided Computer. What that museum seeks to obtain in that acquisition procedure.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, Acquisition Procedures for Video Artworks, updated 11/2017. Institutional practice for video.
• EUIPO, Trade mark guidelines, 4.4.3 Non-fungible tokens (NFT), page date: not located. Trade mark classification criteria.
• Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, Intellectual Property Act, consolidated text, arts. 1, 43, 56 and 145.

Status: Verified. Revision: 11 October 2026. If you find a change, a broken link or an error, write to me.