“One of the pioneering firms in web3 solutions, digital assets and tokenization, recognized for its innovation and solid reputation across Spain and Latin America.”
Jorge CorredorLawyer, Rincón Cuéllar & Asociados
Intellectual property tokenization. Royalties with clear rules.
Intellectual property tokenization lets the owner of a catalog of works, recordings or patents issue tokens entitled to a share of its revenue, and each statement is paid out as the contract sets out. We build the platform, and the usage data behind each payment is fixed upfront.
They trust Metlabs with their intellectual property tokenization projects
Why now
Why tokenize intellectual property now?
Authors' societies closed 2024 with record collections, and more than a third already comes from digital uses. That usage is reported by platform, territory and period, and each payout means matching it with scattered contracts. A shared ledger makes it verifiable which data and which rule produced each payment.
Platform
Platform for licensing and royalty distributions
A right is exploited across many channels and territories at once. The white label base covers investors, the token and payouts, and for your catalog we build the chain of title, programmable licenses and the connection to every usage report.
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Catalog and chain of title
Works, versions, owners, territories and terms for every right, linked to the contracts that prove them.
Programmable licenses
Specific uses with time, territory or volume limits, recorded next to the license agreement they come from.
Usage data connections
Reports from platforms, distributors and collecting societies, reconciled before any payout is calculated.
Royalty distribution
Payouts to writers, publishers, producers or token holders using the percentages set in the contract.
ERC-3643 royalty token
It only moves between verified holders, with per-holder caps, allowed jurisdictions and an emergency pause.
Statements and audit trail
Each statement links the usage report, the rule applied and the payment, with reports ready to export for audit.
Institutional custody, integrated
We integrate custody and key management providers through their APIs, including Fireblocks, BitGo, Coinbase Prime, Anchorage Digital, Copper and Ledger Enterprise. Depending on the provider and model, keys are managed with MPC or multisig so that none depends on a single device. If the token is a security, custody on behalf of clients is provided by an authorized entity.
Structure
Royalty rights, licenses and catalog company shares
A right against the rights holder or the catalog vehicle, whether to a share of its revenue, a licensed use or its equity. Ownership of the work only changes if an assignment agreement says so, and moral rights stay with the author.
| Criterion | Royalty interest | Usage license | Equity in the vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the holder receives | A share of revenue from an identified catalog | Permission for a specific use, term and territory | A share of the capital of the company that owns the catalog |
| Usual framework in the EU | Securities rules or, if it is not a security, MiCA | License agreement and IP law | Company and securities law |
| Horizon | The agreed term or the life of the right | The length of the license | Until the catalog is sold or the agreed exit |
| When we recommend it | Catalogs with a documented revenue history | Sync, software and trademarks with repeat uses | Rights portfolios managed together |
The chain of title and the collecting society, when one is involved, limit what the token can represent. On-chain payouts follow the contract's percentages to the letter.
Methodology
How we tokenize an intellectual property catalog, step by step
Tokenizing a music, audiovisual or publishing catalog, a patent portfolio or a trademark starts with proving who holds each right. The project runs in four phases, from the right the token represents to investor acquisition, and the chain-of-title review runs alongside the legal and technical work.
We review the catalog, the chain of title, existing licenses and the income history, and decide whether the token represents a royalty share, a usage license or the vehicle that owns the rights. The output is the issuance sheet, with the catalog valuation, the issue size and the payment linked to income.
The law firm classifies the token, as an income-linked bond, equity in the vehicle or a usage license, confirms which rights stay with the issuing company and sets the offering route. Each conclusion in its opinion becomes a token rule.
The white label platform, under the brand of the issuer or the authorized provider presenting the offer, includes KYC onboarding, e-signature, SEPA or stablecoin payment, the ERC-3643 token and payouts. Usage report ingestion and reconciliation and programmable licenses are custom-built.
Fundraising combines the issuer's network with digital channels, with whatever investor protections the offering route requires. Afterward, each payout is reviewed with the issuer and the reconciled usage data before it goes out.
Assets
Which intellectual property rights can be tokenized?
A work, a registration or a revenue stream whose ownership and scope can be documented. An idea with no recognized right behind it cannot be tokenized.
Music catalogs
Masters, publishing and royalty interests from streaming and radio.
Film and TV
Films, series and formats with revenue by window, territory and channel.
Publishing
Publication, translation and adaptation rights for written works.
Patents
Licenses and revenue rights over protected, registered technology.
Trademarks and designs
Territorial licensing, merchandising and commercial use under set terms.
Software and databases
Usage licenses, APIs and data with verifiable consumption metrics.
Reviews
What do our clients think of Metlabs?
“We structured the tokenization of real estate projects with them, and I value the team's ability to understand our corporate needs and genuinely solve them.”
Joan MejíaManager, GLOBYNE
“They advised us on the feasibility of tokenizing real estate assets in Uruguay with direct, cordial treatment. A professional team, responsive and always available.”
Álvaro Silva SantamaríaCEO, Sp Inmuebles
“Great professionals at structuring tokenized projects, with technical command and attention to detail that inspire full confidence at every stage of the work.”
Francisco BetancourtVerified Google review
“As a blockchain lawyer, I value their experience and professionalism in consulting and executing tokenization projects. Technology partners you can fully trust.”
Vanessa RivasBlockchain lawyer, El Salvador
“Great professionals, very attentive to their clients and always mindful of every detail. Working with their team has been a genuine pleasure from start to finish.”
CriptorentVerified Google review
“A very professional yet approachable company that empathizes with your doubts and needs. Highly recommended for entrepreneurs with a tokenization project.”
Javier EspasaTokenization entrepreneur
“Exceptional in every sense. From legal support I value their rigor and transparency: working with Metlabs means professionalism, innovation and security.”
Pedro A. Agúndez MéndezGoogle Local Guide
“Excellent service across blockchain development, asset tokenization and consulting. A very professional team that I recommend wholeheartedly, without reservation.”
José Luis DíazVerified Google review
“I have worked with them on several projects and they are very professional. A guarantee that everything turns out perfectly. Without a doubt, 100% recommended.”
Ignacio Fernández JiménezVerified Google review
“One of the pioneering firms in web3 solutions, digital assets and tokenization, recognized for its innovation and solid reputation across Spain and Latin America.”
Jorge CorredorLawyer, Rincón Cuéllar & Asociados
“Great professionals at structuring tokenized projects, with technical command and attention to detail that inspire full confidence at every stage of the work.”
Francisco BetancourtVerified Google review
“A very professional yet approachable company that empathizes with your doubts and needs. Highly recommended for entrepreneurs with a tokenization project.”
Javier EspasaTokenization entrepreneur
“I have worked with them on several projects and they are very professional. A guarantee that everything turns out perfectly. Without a doubt, 100% recommended.”
Ignacio Fernández JiménezVerified Google review
“We structured the tokenization of real estate projects with them, and I value the team's ability to understand our corporate needs and genuinely solve them.”
Joan MejíaManager, GLOBYNE
“As a blockchain lawyer, I value their experience and professionalism in consulting and executing tokenization projects. Technology partners you can fully trust.”
Vanessa RivasBlockchain lawyer, El Salvador
“Exceptional in every sense. From legal support I value their rigor and transparency: working with Metlabs means professionalism, innovation and security.”
Pedro A. Agúndez MéndezGoogle Local Guide
“They advised us on the feasibility of tokenizing real estate assets in Uruguay with direct, cordial treatment. A professional team, responsive and always available.”
Álvaro Silva SantamaríaCEO, Sp Inmuebles
“Great professionals, very attentive to their clients and always mindful of every detail. Working with their team has been a genuine pleasure from start to finish.”
CriptorentVerified Google review
“Excellent service across blockchain development, asset tokenization and consulting. A very professional team that I recommend wholeheartedly, without reservation.”
José Luis DíazVerified Google review
Regulation
Check the regulation by countryWhich regulation applies to intellectual property tokenization?
The law behind the revenue and the law behind the instrument the token represents. A token entitled to a share of that revenue is usually a transferable security, even when it lives in a smart contract, and a usage license that promises no revenue is assessed as a contract.
The first check is the chain of title. If an assignment or an exclusive license in force prevents the revenue from being committed to investors, the issuance is not designed until your law firm resolves it.
Patents, trademarks and designs are industrial property and depend on registries by territory. Copyright arises with the work and is managed through contracts and collecting societies. Under continental European law moral rights cannot be transferred, so the token only carries economic rights. Directive (EU) 2019/790 requires authors to be informed, at least once a year, about how their works are exploited.
In the European Union, a token with a right to future royalties is usually a transferable security, subject to MiFID II and prospectus rules or, below €5 million over 12 months, to the crowdfunding regulation, and not to MiCA. A usage license that promises no revenue is assessed as a license agreement. Tax and withholding in each territory do not change with tokenization.
- SpainCNMV, Banco de España, SEPBLACFavourable100Oct 2026
- UAECMA, CBUAE, VARA, DFSA, FSRAFavourable95Apr 2026
- SwitzerlandFINMAFavourable90Jan 2026
- El SalvadorCNAD, BCR, SSF, UIFFavourable88Apr 2025
- ArgentinaNational Securities Commission and Financial Information UnitFavourable83Jun 2026
- United StatesSEC, CFTC, FinCENFavourable76Sep 2026
Spain
UAE
Switzerland
El Salvador
Argentina
United StatesOur legal partners
Does the token make its holder the owner of the work?
No, unless an assignment agreement says so. The token usually represents a revenue interest, a usage license or equity in the vehicle that owns the catalog. Moral rights remain with the author and are not transferred with the token.
Does recording a work on-chain replace copyright or patent registration?
No. An on-chain timestamp shows that a file existed on a given date, but not who created it or that an assignment is valid. In Spain copyright arises with the work and registration is optional, yet it creates a legal presumption a timestamp does not. Patents still need to be granted, and trademarks generally need to be registered.
How does royalty tokenization work for future income?
Through an assignment or a participation in the future revenue of an identified catalog. It requires firm contracts, reliable exploitation reports and a financial, tax and regulatory review, because that token is usually treated as a transferable security.
Can royalty tokens be resold?
Only to another investor who meets the transfer rules, and finding one is not guaranteed. A royalty right is valued on the catalog's revenue history and few buyers can analyze it, so resale depends on that demand and on a market or an agreed buyback.
Where does the data that triggers each payout come from?
From the reports that platforms, distributors and collecting societies already send to the catalog owner. The platform reconciles them and records the validated report before paying out. Revenue that never appears in those reports is not paid out automatically.
Asset tokenization
Other assets we tokenize.
Asset tokenization
Articles on tokenization
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Real Asset Tokenization: How RWA Tokenization Works
How to structure an RWA project: holder rights, issuance, recordkeeping, payments and recovery. What blockchain adds and what depends on the legal arrangement.
What are the differences between security tokens and utility tokens?
How to distinguish financial rights from service access, what legal classification examines and why a token’s name does not determine its regulation.
Get your catalog's rights in order before you issue.
We start with your catalog's income history and chain of title, and from there tell you which token makes sense to issue.
