Scenarios
We explored and sketched out some of the new kinds of applications and business models that will become possible in a blockchain ecosystem that supports standardized content identifiers, smart licenses and innovative transaction models. See what we have come up with so far:
Imagine an internet browser with a built-in cryptocurrency wallet. Alice has just installed such a new browser or a plug-in. At any time she can specify an amount of coins that she would be willing to spend per month for the content she consumes while surfing the web. The browser could locally scan the loaded content, generate the implicit content identifier and query the public blockchain for license information. At the end of the month, the browser would analyse the local history and propose a list of beneficiaries and a split between them based on Alice’s usage. She could simply accept the proposal or tweak it to her liking and compensate the copyright holders directly via on-chain payment. Read on …
Alice has purchased a DRM-free ebook with a collection of news articles (dossier) through an online retailer or directly from the publisher’s website. After reading the book she wants to resell the content.
Alice logs in to a content resale platform that can handle content which has been registered on the content blockchain. The platform also has support for on-chain payments. With the private key of the wallet address that she used to purchase the content she can prove her license ownership to the resale platform. Alice is told whether she may resell the book or not and under what conditions the content resale transaction may take place. This way, Alice is informed how much coins she will receive for this specific resale transaction. Read on …
News publishers increasingly have to compete with and rely on various kinds of crowdsourced or user generated contents. To obtain licenses for some lucky snapshot taken by a private person is a time-consuming and often impossible endeavour. The publisher needs to find the original content creator or copyright holder, check the integrity of the content itself and negotiate a license while having to rush to report first. In this scenario we describe a mobile application that enables private individuals to offer their lucky snapshots to news publishers and agencies with a simple process. Read on …
The imaginary “EarlyBird” service is using the content blockchain to connect content creators with content marketers. Alice is an independent investigative journalist. She has created a self-funded, informative and well researched background dossier about energy companies. As a user of the “EarlyBird” service she offers several different licensing options for her article. She also chooses a special offer to share 30% of all future revenues from her article for the first marketer that pays her an equivalent of € 600,- in on-chain currency. Read on …
One excellent use case for Blockchains is digital stamping. Imagine it like a digital notary service, but contrary to a traditional notary service you don’t need a trustworthy third party. The blockchain itself provides all the characteristics of a trusted third party: it facilitates secure online transactions, it is a decentralized and distributed network, and registered transactions cannot be altered retroactively. This allows the participants to verify and audit transactions in an inexpensive manner. Read on …
