Kodak, the iconic photography company first established in in the 1880s, has joined the blockchain and ICO age. Today, January 9, 2018, it announced a new blockchain-based platform with WENN Digital to empower and protect image makers, photographers and artists.
The new platform, known as KodakOne, will enable users to register their work and license it with the platform. The image rights management platform will utilize the new KODAKCoin cryptocurrency to provide photographers with a new revenue stream and secure platform for protecting their work.
The smart contract associated with KODAKCoin will ensure that photographers receive payment immediately upon their work being licensed in addition to receiving a share of the overall platform revenue. The platform will also continually scan the web to monitor and protect the artist’s IP and assist them in dealing with illegal use of their work.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
The KODAKOne platform and KODAKCoin cryptocurrency were developed for Kodak by WENN Digital. Their ICO will begin on January 31, 2018, and is open to accredited investors from the U.S., U.K., Canada and other select countries. This ICO is issued under SEC guidelines as a security token under Regulation 506 (c) as an exempt offering.