Author: William M. Peaster, Bankless; Translated by: Wuzhu, Golden Finance
Intellectual property (IP) includes creations such as artwork, designs, images, inventions, names and symbols.
This covers a wide range of assets from AI models to gaming assets.
Despite its enormous value, estimated in the trillions of dollars, IP often remains mired in outdated legal systems, making it difficult to license, monetize, and trade effectively.
That’s where the new Story Network comes in, a new blockchain designed to transform IP into liquid, programmable, and ownable digital assets.
Since the chain is brand new and centered around NFTs.
What is Story Network?
Story Network was created specifically to bring IP on-chain, making it easier to manage and monetize.
On Story Network, IP is represented as an on-chain asset called an IP asset, or NFT. These NFTs carry detailed metadata about the underlying IP and serve as its digital representation. They can be linked to existing NFTs, such as CryptoPunks, or issued to represent off-chain projects.
Each IP asset is linked to an IP Account, which is a dedicated smart contract that manages interactions and data related to the IP.
Also at the heart of Story Network is its Proof of Creativity (PoC) protocol, which facilitates the creation and management of IP assets, enabling use cases such as permissionless licensing and automated royalty payments.
Another key pillar is the Programmable IP License (PIL), a legal framework that connects the on-chain world with the traditional legal system, ensuring that the digital representation of IP on the Story Network is enforceable in the real world.
How is Story Network designed?
Story Network is a Layer 1 blockchain optimized for efficiently processing complex IP data structures, relying on elements from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and the Cosmos SDK.
Notably, Story Network is EVM-equivalent, meaning it supports the same code execution environment as Ethereum. This compatibility allows developers to port existing applications and smart contracts written in Ethereum’s popular Solidity programming language to Story Network with little or no changes.
As for the Cosmos SDK, it provides the underlying framework for the consensus and network layer of the Story Network, with high scalability and low transaction costs. This design choice also allows the Story Network to interoperate with other blockchains within the Cosmos ecosystem, thereby enhancing its flexibility.
Noun and Verb Structure
Story Network uses a noun and verb framework when dealing with IP.
IP assets are nouns, i.e. things. Recall that these are NFTs that represent intellectual property on the Story Network. These assets contain metadata and are associated with IP accounts that manage their data and interactions.
On the other hand, Story's modules are verbs. Modules are customizable programs that define and extend the functionality of an IP account. Developers can create modules to meet a variety of business logic needs.
For example, the licensing module on Story Network simplifies the licensing process. Creators can define licensing terms and attach them to their IP assets, allowing others to mint licensing tokens.
The PIL framework described above then provides a standardized, customizable legal contract that defines how the IP can be used, covering aspects such as commercial use, attribution, and royalty terms.
In addition, there is a royalty module that automates the distribution of royalties. When an IP asset is used or generates revenue, the royalty module ensures that payments are automatically distributed according to predefined royalty terms.
The module even tracks the relationship between original and derivative works, ensuring that all contributors receive a fair share of royalties. This feature is particularly useful for projects involving multiple creators and complex IP relationships.
Why do you tag IPs on Story Network?
There are several significant benefits to tokenizing IP on Story Network:
Liquidity – IP can be traded or used as collateral, creating new financial opportunities.
Programmability - Automated operations such as royalty payments can be embedded in IP NFTs, simplifying management.
Transparency – The underlying blockchain provides a clear and immutable record of IP ownership and transactions.
These are all compelling pillars for content creators, but what would actual use cases look like?
For example, artists, musicians, writers, etc. can register their IP as NFT on Story Network, set licensing terms and automatically pay royalties. This makes it easier to control and monetize their work.
For developers, they can build applications that leverage tokenized IP. Think AI model marketplaces, content remix platforms, and DeFi applications that use IP NFTs as collateral.
Two of the earliest examples of applications in the Story ecosystem are Magma, a collaborative design tool that uses the Story Network to manage and monetize creative works through NFTs, and Mahojin, a platform for AI training data and models.
Summarize
How will making IP programmable and liquid affect interactions between creators and consumers? Will IP tokenization and trading democratize access to creative works? How can PIL systems effectively adapt to a diverse global legal landscape, especially as AI-generated content becomes more common?
The answers to these questions remain to be seen, but Story Network is diving deeper than ever before and looking to revolutionize the future of digital IP through the crypto economy. As the chain grows and develops, it has the potential to redefine IP management to better meet the content challenges of the 21st century.
So will Story be the winner? We’ll have to wait and see, but this innovative foray into new territory is still exciting — stay tuned for updates on the project!