A New Chapter in Web3 Intellectual Property Management: The Innovation and Application of the Story Protocol

With the development of the times, intellectual property ( IP ) has become an important asset class, covering a wide range of fields from software code, artistic works to technological inventions. The global IP market value continues to grow, reaching approximately $180 billion in 2020, and is expected to rise at an annual compound growth rate of 8.5% in the coming years. In the same year, the number of global patent applications exceeded 3.27 million, and the number of trademark applications reached 17.1 million, showing significant growth. Asia has been particularly active in IP activities, accounting for 64% of the total global patent applications.

However, the expansion of the IP market also brings management challenges. The traditional IP management model relies on centralized legal systems and manual verification, which appears inefficient in the digital age. Major issues include: insufficient liquidity, protection and transparency problems, and a lagging legal system. Against this backdrop, introducing IP tokenization into the blockchain to achieve programmability and direct management by IP owners may be the solution.

The Story project aims to revolutionize the creation, management, and licensing of IP through blockchain technology. The platform supports full lifecycle management of IP, including source tracking, frictionless licensing, and revenue sharing features. Since its establishment in early 2022, Story has experienced significant milestones such as technology development and the launch of the creative proof protocol, and has received over $150 million in investment from multiple top VCs, including a16z.

Story Network, as a specially designed Layer 1 blockchain, combines EVM compatibility and Cosmos SDK to achieve the capability of efficiently processing complex IP data structures. Its core Proof-of-Creativity protocol provides foundational support for the digitalization and automated management of IP, enabling innovative features such as permissionless licensing and automatic royalty payments.

The Programmable IP License ( PIL ) is another innovation from Story Network that brings real-world IP onto the blockchain. The PIL offers legal protections similar to a "Y-Combinator SAFE", ensuring that creators maintain control over their works. Creators can easily set the usage conditions for their works through the PIL, including options for non-commercial social mixing, commercial use, and commercial mixing.

To promote ecological development, Story has established the Story Academy program to support innovative projects based on its network. Several projects, including Magma and Mahojin, have successfully applied the Story Network protocol, covering areas such as multi-user collaborative design tools and AI training data IP tokenization.

The Story project has performed well in terms of financing, technology, and application implementation, opening up new avenues for IP management in the Web3 era. However, the IP market is still in its development stage, and future growth will require time for validation.