Kodak announced plans Tuesday to launch a new digital rights management platform for images based on blockchain technology and a new cryptocurrency to buy and sell images on that platform. Kodak is calling the rights management system KODAKOne and the cryptocurrency KODAKCoin. Kodak will hold an ICO for KODAKCoin on January 31 that “is open to accredited investors from the U.S., UK, Canada and other select countries,” the company said in a press release. (Kodak) Kodak stock prices surged 30 percent after the announcement. (CNBC)
Key details
Utilizing blockchain technology, the KODAKOne platform will create an encrypted, digital ledger of rights ownership for photographers to register both new and archive work that they can then license within the platform. With KODAKCoin, participating photographers are invited to take part in a new economy for photography, receive payment for licensing their work immediately upon sale, and for both professional and amateur photographers, sell their work confidently on a secure blockchain platform. KODAKOne platform provides continual web crawling in order to monitor and protect the IP of the images registered in the KODAKOne system. Where unlicensed usage of images is detected, the KODAKOne platform can efficiently manage the post-licensing process in order to reward photographers. (Kodak)
Smart take
Shares of Kodak stock rose quickly because anything remotely associated with bitcoin, like the new KODAKcoin, is hot with investors. But the real value here is the KODAKOne platform. Blockchain technology is well-suited for digital rights management. And photographers have been looking for a digital rights solution for almost two decades.
It’s no accident Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke focused on photographers in the company’s press release:
“For many in the tech industry, ‘blockchain’ and ‘cryptocurrency’ are hot buzzwords, but for photographers who’ve long struggled to assert control over their work and how it’s used, these buzzwords are the keys to solving what felt like an unsolvable problem. Kodak has always sought to democratize photography and make licensing fair to artists. These technologies give the photography community an innovative and easy way to do just that.”