Eastman Kodak Company (KODK) in Full Rally Mode; Here’s Why
Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:KODK) rallied over 40% today after joining the cryptocurrency and blockchain frenzy. Specifically, the photo giant along with WENN Digital are launching a new platform that uses blockchain technology to empower photographers and agencies to take greater control in image rights management.
Utilizing blockchain technology, the KODAKOne platform will create an encrypted, digital ledger of rights ownership for photographers to register both new and archive work that they can then license within the platform. With KODAKCoin, participating photographers are invited to take part in a new economy for photography, receive payment for licensing their work immediately upon sale, and for both professional and amateur photographers, sell their work confidently on a secure blockchain platform. KODAKOne platform provides continual web crawling in order to monitor and protect the IP of the images registered in the KODAKOne system. Where unlicensed usage of images is detected, the KODAKOne platform can efficiently manage the post-licensing process in order to reward photographers.
Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke commented, "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 [...] 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."
WENN Digital CEO Jan Denecke added, "Engaging with a new platform, it is critical photographers know their work and their income is handled securely and with trust, which is exactly what we did with KODAKCoin [...] Subject to the highest standards of compliance, KODAKCoin is all about paying photographers fairly and giving them an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a new economy tailored for them, with secure asset rights management built right in."
Eastman Kodak provides directly and through partnerships with other innovative companies hardware, software, consumables and services to customers in graphic arts, commercial print, publishing, packaging, electronic displays, entertainment and commercial films, and consumer products markets. The company operates through the following segments: Print Systems; Enterprise Inkjet Systems; Micro 3D Printing and Packaging; Software and Solutions; Consumer and Film; Intellectual Property Solutions; and Eastman Business Park.
