Kodak’s Dubious Blockchain Gamble

Kodak’s Dubious Blockchain Gamble
This month, Kodak lent its name to a digital currency called KodakCoin, which is billed as “a photo-centric cryptocurrency to empower photographers
and agencies to take greater control in image rights management.” The basic idea behind KodakCoin is to use the blockchain to help photographers manage their collections by creating permanent, immutable records of ownership.
He is the chairman of Appcoin Innovations, which was registered as a literary agency — Redstone Literary Agents — until last year, when it became a consulting firm
that provides “a turnkey set of services for companies to develop and integrate blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies,” according to securities filings.
And KodakCoin’s white paper, a technical document that details the plans for the currency,
is a 40-page mishmash of marketing buzzwords and vague diagrams, like the one below:
Make no mistake: Digital rights management is a real issue for photographers, and the blockchain does, in theory, offer a compelling solution.
“This is a real solution around digital rights management that Kodak has been involved in for many years.”
In theory, photographers will be able to upload their images to a platform called KodakOne, create a blockchain-based license for each image,
and use web-crawling software to scour the internet looking for copyright violations.
He began looking into blockchain technology last summer, he said, and realized
that it could solve a perennial problem for photographers — proving ownership of their images, tracking down copyright violators, and getting paid.
has warned that securities sold in private offerings, such as KodakCoins, may be difficult to resell — and
that investors may be required to hold on to them “indefinitely.” A KodakCoin representative told me that the company believes its tokens will eventually be freely traded, and that it may issue other types of tokens in the future that will not be subject to the same restrictions.