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ERC-8171 (RFC)

ERC-8171 is a draft for clipping an agent record onto an NFT you already have. The art contract stays as it is. The new registry uses the NFT’s token-bound wallet as the place the agent record hangs from.

This is a forum proposal: Ethereum Magicians. It is a Draft. It is not the same thing as an ERC-8004 registration. Read the contract, if one is ever deployed, before you assume a sale moves the agent the way you hope.

How the clip works

Think of a name tag clipped to a jacket you already own. You do not restitch the jacket. You can unclip the tag. Someone else can clip a different tag on later.

1. Bind. bindNew or bindWithApproval would attach an agent identity to an existing ERC-721 token.
2. The wallet is the hook. The proposal uses the ERC-6551 pattern, so the agent record points at the account that belongs to that token.
3. Memory. updateMemory would let the agent update a hash of its memory. The hash is a fingerprint, not the whole diary.
4. Unbind. unbind would take the agent off the token and park the data, instead of deleting it.
5. Rebind. rebind would attach an agent again after a change, including after a sale. That means the picture can move while the agent record is clipped to something else, if the rules allow it.

What this draft does not do

• It does not rewrite your original art contract.
• It is not automatically an ERC-8004 identity. That is a different registry.
• A sale of the picture is not, by itself, a promise that the same agent stays clipped on.
• The forum post is not a finished standard you can rely on in a purchase agreement.

Professional use

• A certificate you already hold could grow an agent record without a second collection.
• Clients would need to check the registry, not only the old picture.
• Ask what happens to the clip on the day you transfer the certificate.

Business use

• A brand could add agent links to a character collection it already shipped.
• The art contract would stay untouched, which matters when that contract cannot be upgraded.
• The company must publish whether a buyer of the art receives the agent, or whether staff can rebind it.

Personal use

• A picture you already own could get a voice record without a new mint.
• You could unclip that voice and keep the picture.
• If you sell the picture, ask whether the voice goes with it or can be clipped onto a different token later.

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