How NFT subpoenas can change the legal landscape

RBB Lab, a technology development firm based in the Republic of San Marino, has used nonfungible token (NFT) technology to issue a subpoena to a former employee and a contractor.

RBB Lab CEO Enrico Rubboli told Cointelegraph that they summoned the two individuals to the judiciary in Italy over allegations of attempted extortion and gross defamation of the firm. The summons was “an order restriction that we ask them to stop this campaign against us,” Rubboli said.

This is the first time an NFT has been used to deliver a subpoena in Italy. If this technology catches on, it could mean big changes in how Italy handles court cases in the future.

The RBB team says that serving a summons via the blockchain is more efficient than the traditional process, which can take weeks. Rubboli, said: “The aim is to streamline the process and make it more efficient,” adding:

“As a technology company, we want to push barriers in everything we do. This is an example where technology can facilitate and even improve a system that has been slow to adapt. Our goal is to find opportunities to improve our lives with the help of technology. Unfortunately, the justice system has many examples of inefficiency where much can be done.”

RBB Lab is collaborating with the Florence, Italy-based law firm Annetta Rossi e Associati to develop a set of tools for the legal field. The goal is to create new blockchain-related legal products that can be used by both lawyers and law students. The project is still in an early phase, but the team is already making great progress.

“We have a very good relationship with the law firm and they are familiar with the blockchain. So we decided to work with them as we are an engineering company and can help them bring a number of tools to market, such as on-chain forensic tools and the technology to deliver a subpoena via the blockchain. We are also investigating the possibility of notarizing documents using the blockchain. So we want a way to prove that the document existed at a certain point in time,” Rubboli told Cointelegraph

Service of legal documents with NFT

Contrary to what one might expect, the use of NFTs for service of court documents is becoming more common. In fact, two courts in the UK and US have approved subpoenas with NFTs in the context of a legal dispute potentially paving the way for more widespread use.

Recent: Festivals in the Metaverse: How Web3 Projects Take Culture Virtual

As more and more people have started using NFTs, the number of lawsuits related to NFTs has also grown significantly in recent years. One of the latest saw a law firm use an NFT to serve a defendant with a temporary restraining order.

Another example saw a company take the rather unique step of serving a defendant with an NFT as evidence in an $8 million hacking case.

The fact that lawyers have embraced NFTs as a viable form of service in legal cases, regardless of jurisdiction, is a clear sign that this new technology has been accepted and is being used in the legal community.

The traditional way of serving court papers has been characterized by personal delivery, but with the rise of blockchain technology there is the opportunity to explore a more modern approach. This could have a far-reaching effect on both individuals and businesses, as it could potentially open up a world of possibilities for how court papers are served in the future.

When asked about the reason behind their decision to deliver the summons through an NFT, Rubboli replied:

“By traditional means, service of a subpoena can be quite difficult. When serving a summons, it should be sent out and delivered as quickly as possible and as efficiently as possible.”

“At the moment it is extremely complicated and error-prone due to lead time and cost to find individual people – especially if they are anonymous. NFTs are the way to go because it reduces and automates the steps which as you know make fewer mistakes when be held accountable. Just a single mistake can be used by the opposite party to delay the court and of course it can create a whole series of new cases. So efficiency is extremely important here,” he added.

Consequences for the legal system

While there are many advantages to using NFTs to serve a subpoena, there are also legal requirements that must be met.

To better understand this and the subpoena’s potential implications for the Italian legal system, Cointelegraph contacted Pietro Calvaruso of RBB Labs’ legal team for more insight.

“One of the main problems is still represented by the lack of familiarity of our rulers with blockchain technology,” said Calvaruso, “although the number of professionals capable of using it is growing rapidly. It is necessary for a change of mentality of our politicians.”

“The implementation of the blockchain in the Italian legal system will give our country a big boost in terms of the attractiveness of investments and will definitely help create a fairer environment both for entrepreneurs and consumers.”

Digital asset IP

In addition to using NFTs to serve legal documents, some companies also use them to combat counterfeiting.

The use of NFTs allows companies to verify that a digital asset is genuine, original and not copyrighted with blockchain technology.

This technology makes them indestructible and easily verifiable. In addition, it can be used to transfer royalties and fees to the creator through the use of smart contracts.

Recent: What is tokenization and how do banks use the design principles?

This has enabled media companies to link their unique content to NFTs and provide their customers with a unique experience by taking advantage of this technology.

Earlier this year, The Sandbox, an Ethereum-based metaverse, partnered with NFT collective World of Women.

This partnership serves as a great platform for the company to continue its mission of achieving higher education and representation for women in the virtual world.