Kodak, still known for its sginificant contributions to photography and film, announced it is venturing into cryptocurrency territory with the launch of the cryptocurrency KODAKCoin and the image rights management platform KODAKOne, in partnership with WENN Digital.
KODAKOne will utilize the blockchain technology to create an encrypted digital ledger of rights ownership of photos – old and new – and will let photographers to license them on the platform.
The KODAKCoin, on the other hand, will be used as payment for the rights on the photos. It will be launched through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) on January 31. It is not clear what is the sought investment, will be open to accredited investors from “select countries” including the U.S. and Canada.
"This initial Coin Offering is issued under SEC guidelines as a security token under Regulation 506 (c) as an exempt offering," Kodak said.
The KODAKOne platform will be available both to professional and amateur photographers to license and sell their work and will continuously crawl the internet in search for unlicensed use of their photos. It is described as “a revolutionary new image rights management and protection platform secured in the blockchain that seamlessly registers, manages and monetizes creative assets for the photographic community.”
“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,” said Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke. “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.”
To the older generations Kodak is best known for its cameras and photographic film and was one of the pioneers of photography in XIX century.
Since its bankruptcy and resurrection in 2013, Kodak has focused on hardware, software, consumables and services to customers in graphic arts, commercial print, publishing, packaging, entertainment and commercial films, and consumer products markets.
After the announcement of the KODAKCoin and KODAKOne platform, the Kodak stock price rose 44% to $5.50, to eventually settle down to $4.30, up 37.6% on the day.
WENN Digital is a development and operations team specializing in proprietary blockchain development, big data, copyright law, AI-enabled image recognition and post licensing monetization systems. WENN Digital has a strategic relationship with the Deloitte Analytics Institute in Berlin and the Deloitte Blockchain Institute in Munich.
WENN Digital is part of the WENN Media Group (World Entertainment News Network), which is an entertainment text, photo, and video wire-service provider headquartered in London. WENN provides breaking entertainment news, images and text features to newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television networks, mobile operators, websites and other media.