Empowering Creators: The New Era of Programmable IP With Story Protocol

1/ In the "Empowering Creators: The New Era of Programmable IP With Story Protocol" session at REDeFiNE TOMORROW 2024, SY Lee @storysylee (CEO & Co-founder, Story Protocol @StoryProtocol) shared insights on the future of web3 IP and onboarding IP to the blockchain space. The session was moderated by Ryan Kim @0xryankim of @hashed_official
2/ Lee discussed the limitations of the current centralized intellectual property infrastructure, citing friction in creating IP networks and the inability to compensate creators in the age of generative AI as major market failures.
3/ Story Protocol aims to address these issues by making intellectual property programmable, with a built-in API for remixing, licensing, and royalty sharing for each piece of content or IP, turning them into "IP Legos."
4/ The protocol focuses on collaborative creation, allowing creators to unlock the network effect by having fans and creators capitalize on their creativity. One example is Sekai, an app that enables users to create their own anime using IP Legos from various creators.
5/ Another app, Magma, is a Figma for game illustrators, with 2 million artists producing 10 million drawings a year. These characters become IP Legos that can be used by webtoon, animation, or gaming platforms in an interoperable way.
6/ Story Protocol's blockchain serves as an "IP Legoland," where images, art, and characters are readily available for users to mesh together, with built-in APIs for licensing and royalty sharing, eliminating the need for intermediaries.
7/ Regarding intellectual property rights, Story Protocol offers three approaches: a "happy path" where good actors license content, off-chain legal recourse for license violations, and on-chain dispute mechanics using a proof-of-stake system.
8/ The protocol introduces the concept of "proof of creativity," where users stake their IP token to validate and attest to the validity of the IP, following smart contract rules. Disputes can be raised, and stakers lose money if the IP is found to be false.
9/ Story Protocol is preparing for the integration of AI in the IP space by creating a programmable IP layer that addresses the failures of centralized IP systems in creating IP networks and compensating creators in the age of generative AI.
10/ The protocol is incubating a web3 Hugging Face for AI models and fine-tuning datasets, where each element (training datasets, AI models, fine-tuned models, and output) is an IP Lego with built-in licensing and royalty-sharing terms.
11/ This approach allows for the remixing of different models to create new AI character models, with provenance and attribution maintained throughout the process. The output follows the rules set by the AI model's licensing and royalty-sharing terms.
12/ Story Protocol aims to be the IP monetization layer for models and fine-tuning datasets, injecting scarcity and enabling provenance, attribution, and compensation through blockchain technology.
13/ In the next 6-12 months, Story Protocol plans to launch its testnet with partners, followed by a mainnet launch shortly after. The focus is on bootstrapping IPs and creators in the ecosystem through exciting applications.
14/ The goal is to have all the building blocks and version one of the "IP Legoland" ready, with a strong emphasis on onboarding a bottom-up approach to IPs created by apps.