Kodak announced the launch of a blockchain platform and its respective cryptoactive to manage the intellectual property of photographs, both professional and amateur, this January 9. After announcing the news, the technological multinational registered more than a 100% increase in the value of its shares.
The launch of the project was disclosed through an official publication on the Kodak website, where they explained that the initiative will be executed thanks to an alliance with the company WENN Digital. The announcement brought good news to Kodak. Today the company has recorded a vertiginous growth in the value of its shares, starting the day at $ 3.10 and increasing that value by 119% at the time of writing, reaching a maximum of 7.65 dollars per share. Growth that means a lot to a company that was bankrupt a few years ago.
According to the Kodak publication, the platform will be named KODAKOne and the cryptoactive, KODAKCoin, which will be offered during an Initial Currency Offer that will begin on January 31 and which was created within the framework of regulation 506 (c) of SEC as an exempt offer, considering these cryptoactives as restricted securities or securities that can not be freely negotiated. The offer of the KODAKCoins will be available for the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as other countries that did not mention it.
As explained, KODAKOne will be a tool based on distributed accounting technology with which photographers can protect their work by a durable record, both new and old jobs. On the platform, they can license their photographs and create a source of income by obtaining KODAKCoins in exchange for their licenses.
They highlighted that the KODAKOne platform will have a powerful tool to perform web traces and protect the images registered in that blockchain. "When the use of unlicensed images is detected, the KODAKOne platform can efficiently manage the post-licensing process to reward photographers," they explained in the publication.
The current CEO of Kodak, Jeff Clarke, who has contributed to the resurgence of the company, stated the following:
For many in the tech industry, 'blockchain' and 'cryptocurrencies' are buzzwords, but for photographers who have struggled to exercise control over their work and how it is used, these keywords are the key to solving a problem that seemed impossible resolving. Kodak has always sought to democratize photography and make licenses fair for artists. These technologies give the photography community an innovative and easy way to do just that.
Jeff Clarke
CEO, Kodak
For its part, WENN Digital CEO Jan Denecke, a company associated with Kodak for the launch of KODAKOne, said: "KODAKCoin is about paying photographers fairly and giving them the opportunity to enter the ground floor of a new economy designed for them, with a secure asset rights management built in. "
Meanwhile, it is not the first time that any company or startup announces projects based on blockchain technology for intellectual property, since previously the Peruvian startup Leftherian had done for the management of rights over different artistic works, as well as the audiovisual production company Canadian Groupe Media TFO.
In addition, there are several companies that after announcing their introduction to the blockchain world have registered increases in the value of their shares. Among them, a company dedicated to iced tea, which recently announced that it will buy mining equipment with the profits obtained after including the word blockchain in its name.