On September 6th, Story Protocol (Twitter: @StoryProtocol) announced a $54 M+ funding round led by A16Z. In public, this project is shrouded in mystery, with no white paper, no product demo, and not even a Discord or Telegram community.

Why did they manage to secure such a significant amount of funding with just a PPT?

What exactly is the goal and ambition of Story Protocol?

In this article, I aim to systematically organize all the information available online about Story Protocol to provide you with a clearer understanding of the project. Based on some of the hints that have been revealed, I will also offer some personal insights into what the Story Protocol protocol might entail.

In their official PR, Story Protocol mentions their goal of building an open IP infrastructure for the internet era to unleash the creative potential of the Internet. They use a fascinating analogy, referring as “Git for IP,” which is the key to solving this puzzle.

So, what exactly is Story Protocol? Think of it as the Git and SourceCerd for the realm of intellectual property (IP).

Now, let’s delve into the genesis and evolution of this project by addressing the classic three entrepreneurial questions:

1. Why do we need an open IP infrastructure?

2. Why is Story Protocol’s team the one chosen to build this infrastructure?

3. How should open IP infrastructure be developed?

Why do we need an open IP infrastructure?

Open and cost-effective IP creation drives the continuous progress of human society, while copyright issues loom large, constraining creativity.

(The following paragraph is the history of China)

The earliest literary copyrights were controlled by the ruling class. In order to solidify their political status, the ruling class used violent means to restrict the circulation of copyrights among the common people. Before the Chinese inventor Bi Sheng introduced movable type printing in the mid-15th century, all texts were written and recorded manually. Due to political reasons and replication cost, the number of texts circulated among the common people was extremely scarce.

During ancient China’s Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynastic periods, books were considered as national treasures and were strictly restricted within those government institutions. Only the privileged offspring of wealthy families had the qualifications and means to study, while the common people had limited access to advanced knowledge. This led to the solidification of society into two classes: peasants and nobility. Schools during that time were run by the government, and the education these days emphasized the integration of politics and religion. The primary purpose was to groom successors for the ruling class, resulting in a phenomenon where “study only in the government institutions.”

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in ancient China, the power of the Zhou dynasty gradually declined. Various regional states and lords emerged, and the traditional system of governance, centered around rituals and music, began to erode. The official state-controlled educational system struggled to continue, and regional lords emerged, resulting in a great demand for talents. This led to the rise of private schools. The monopoly of cultural education by the nobility ended, and books that were previously controlled by the aristocracy began to flow into the hands of the common people, marking an era of intellectual diversity and debate known as the “Hundred Schools of Thought.”

One of the most renowned Chinese philosophers of this time was Confucius, who represented the establishment of private schools. In his early years, Confucius traveled to various states, spreading his teachings and aiming to restore the “rites and music system.” However, he faced numerous obstacles and eventually gave up on the path to officialdom. In his later years, he founded a private school in the state of Lu, focusing on education and the compilation of books. It was during this time that Confucius first proposed the idea of “education without discrimination” and worked on organizing “The Book of Songs,” “The Book of Documents,” “The Book of Rites,” “The Book of Changes,” and “The Spring and Autumn Annals.” These literary works, once treasured by the royal and aristocratic class, began to circulate among the common people.

The abundance of books among the common people raised the overall level of knowledge, and intellectuals became more active. Many scholars and itinerant thinkers, after exposure to advanced ideas, began to criticize the current political situation by quoting classical Confucian texts and the sayings of sages. This challenged the authoritarian political system that the Qin Dynasty sought to establish. Consequently, Qin Shi Huang adopted the advice of Li Si and implemented harsh measures such as the burning of books and burying of Confucian scholars to eliminate Confucian thought among the common people and strengthen the Legalist state doctrine. Cultural resources, including books, were once again controlled by those in power, with rulers of different dynasties directly determining what literary works should be circulated among the common people.

Beyond political factors, the cost of duplication also constrained the dissemination of texts. During the Xia Dynasty, people inscribed oracle bone script on bronze vessels and animal bones. Later, ancient people began recording on bamboo slips, still facing issues like difficulty in reading and the large space they occupied. When people in ancient times talked about someone being “learned with five carriages,” the amount of content might not have been as extensive as what you can find on your WeChat Reading app today. There is a legend that during the Western Han Dynasty, the literary figure Dongfang Shuo submitted a memorial to Emperor Wu of Han that required the use of three thousand bamboo slips, carried by two people, which was quite cumbersome.

It wasn’t until the Eastern Han period that paper, invented by Cai Hou, made its appearance, significantly reducing the cost of duplicating literature. Texts began to circulate at a much lower cost, leading to a surge in demand for books among the common people. With a medium for literature in place, people began to explore more efficient ways of producing books. Thus, woodblock printing was born during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, evolving into the movable type printing technique during the Song Dynasty. These more flexible printing technologies dramatically lowered the cost of duplicating books and took Eastern civilization to new heights.

During the same period, innovations in printing technology also drove progress in Western civilization. In the 15th century, the German inventor Johannes Gutenberg developed a prototype of a printing press that used metal movable type and higher-quality oil-based ink. He used this press to print the Gutenberg Bible, which was the first book in the Western world to be printed using movable type. This showcased the potential of the printing press for rapidly and efficiently producing large quantities of high-quality texts, marking the beginning of mass production of books in the Western world. Gutenberg’s invention was a transformative moment in the history of communication and knowledge dissemination.

The printing press brought about a revolution in Western printing and the dissemination of information, similar to its impact in Eastern societies, driving the democratization of knowledge. For example, the widespread availability of religious texts played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation within Christianity. People gained access to reading the Bible without relying solely on the interpretations of church leaders, allowing them to form their own understandings. This greatly facilitated the diversification of religious thought.

As the cost of printing presses continued to decrease, printed texts expanded beyond religious literature and became more integrated into daily life. Anyone could purchase or rent a printing press to produce text copies conveniently and affordably, leading to profound societal changes and elevating the overall cultural and educational levels throughout Europe.

However, due to the lack of copyright protection laws, popular works were often copied and published by competitors once released, harming the interests of publishers and authors. In April 1710, the British Parliament enacted the Statute of Anne, marking the beginning of the development of copyright law. As the world’s first copyright statute, the Statute of Anne provided 14 years of legal protection to book publishers from the date of enactment and extended protection for all books already printed for 21 years. This legislation shifted book copyright from publishers to authors, establishing a practical agreement between authors, booksellers, and the public. This change set the stage for a virtuous cycle in book creation.

The internet, much like the printing press of yesteryears, has introduced a new medium platform for content creation. Text, images, audio, video, and an increasing array of digital content are converging, co-creating, and collaborating on the internet.

In a more open and convenient creative environment, a plethora of intellectual properties (IP) continue to emerge, with advancements in AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) tools further accelerating the production of digital content. IP in the digital age faces numerous challenges, necessitating new intellectual property infrastructure, much like the “Statute of Anne” in an era of increasingly lower replication costs, to capture value for creators.

• Low IP replication costs make it difficult for creators to capture value. Pepe the Frog, created by Matt Furie, has become one of the most iconic memes in the Web3 domain. Numerous digital assets have been created based on the Pepe concept, with the most well-known being \(PEPE, which reached a market value of \)2 billion in May of this year. Much of the immense value captured by $PEPE is a result of the efforts made over the past 20 years by Matt Furie, derivative creators, and the Rare Pepes website. However, these IP creators have not received the corresponding returns, and Matt Furie, in particular, has been unable to prevent the extreme interpretations of Pepe the Frog in political and crypto realms.

• Platform economies can stifle the growth potential of new IP. Existing content brands and IP also face pressure from platform economies, as platforms have precise control over the exposure and traffic of various brand IPs. New IPs must continually optimize their Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) to sustain themselves. Companies like Hollywood often resort to remakes and reboots of old IPs due to the high cost of building new IPs and budget allocation to businesses that promise more immediate returns.

• Traditional IP licensing processes can be cumbersome. Traditional IP frameworks are slow and opaque, involving IP assessments, negotiations, contract signing, and contract fulfillment across various business and legal domains, incurring high friction costs.

NFT technology allows brands to decentralize ownership to C-level holders. Each holder possesses partial ownership of the brand and can explore commercial opportunities based on their NFT assets. This approach can harness the power of social networks for rapid virality and leverage the organic propagation of holders to address platform economy issues. However, these commercial explorations are often challenging to execute, and there is a lack of established solutions for authorization confirmation and quantifying contributor value.

Many NFT projects experience a continuous decline in floor prices post-sale for this reason. Before NFT sales, projects can incentivize users to create derivative works on social media. However, after NFT sales, projects often lack effective incentives for holders to continue creating, causing a loss of community creators and a gradual decline in exposure on social platforms. This further exacerbates the downward trend of project floor prices, creating a vicious cycle.

Blue-chip projects are experimenting with IP licensing

In July 2023, Yuga Labs introduced the first on-chain licensing scheme, granting holders unique on-chain licenses to use Yuga-manufactured “Made by Apes” badges, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), or Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFT images in their products or services featuring specific Apes. This, to some extent, effectively confirms the authorization of commercial rights but hasn’t efficiently addressed the incentive problem. Holders have spontaneously promoted BAYC by using it as their avatar, organizing online Spaces, and building the brand. However, BAYC, apart from providing encouragement and hosting holder parties, hasn’t been able to reciprocate the value captured by the brand back to loyal contributors.

Pudgy Penguins is pioneering the use of physical derivatives to create sustainable business models for the NFT community.

In May, Pudgy Penguins introduced penguin plush toys on the Amazon platform, selling over 20,000 products in just two days, receiving widespread acclaim. However, Luca, the project’s founder, mentioned in a video interview that the current NFT authorization process remains too cumbersome and outdated within the legal system. Therefore, Pudgy Penguins currently employs a partial authorization model, signing contracts with loyal holders to obtain licensing permissions, create corresponding NFTs, and pay 1% of the sales royalties. This approach allows for more flexibility and agility in navigating the complexities of IP authorization in the NFT space.

Generative AI, also known as AIGC , has had a significant impact on IPs

Generative AI is a technology that uses machine learning algorithms to train on existing data (text, audio, images) in order to create entirely new and original content. From simple text generation to more complex digital human technologies, with groundbreaking innovations like Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, ChatGPT, and other models, generative AI has rapidly found applications in various aspects of human life.

Generative AI can produce a large volume of content at very low costs. Meanwhile, the quality of this content has been exponentially improving with the advancement of AI technology. This has raised concerns among content creators such as writers, artists, and screenwriters. These concerns stem from two main factors: the potential for job displacement and copyright issues.

If we imagine machine learning as a function, it fundamentally takes input content and, through a function transformation, generates output images. Therefore, we have reason to believe that AI-generated content is derived from the input content.

While there are relatively clear solutions for IP confirmation issues in derivative works, with specialized sections in U.S. copyright law (such as Circular 14) addressing derivatives, the issue of copyright in the Gen AI field remains unresolved. Traditional IP laws allow IP owners to determine how their works are used, including creating new derivative works based on the original product. However, Gen AI-generated content not only lacks effective legal solutions for copyright confirmation, but the copyright relationship between derivative content and original content is also quite convoluted.

In a ruling by the U.S. Copyright Office in February of this year, images from an AI-generated comic called “Dawn of Charliya” were deemed ineligible for copyright protection because the creation of these images did not involve human creative work.

Today, GenAI has generated a huge amount of content based on the existing IPs.

The classification of AI-generated content, whether it should be considered unauthorized derivative works or entirely new content IP, remains a critical issue that requires further legal clarification.

With Gen AI creating a substantial amount of content based on existing IP, there is a pressing need for the legal community to address copyright problems more comprehensively.

In summary, the field of internet copyright lacks an efficient and transparent solution to unlock the broader potential of IP, quantify contributions, and provide incentives. In the current era of Gen AI, the proliferation of AI-generated derivative content exacerbates the challenges related to IP rights. These pain points are precisely what Story Protocol aims to address by building an open IP infrastructure. With ownership and composability at its core, this infrastructure has the potential to capture significant value in the realm of intellectual property.

Why is Story Protocol’s team the one chosen to build this infrastructure?

After discussing the philosophy, let’s delve into the execution. Why did A16Z choose the Story Protocol team? Let’s take a closer look at the star-studded team, VCs, and partners of Story Protocol.

S.Y.Lee

As the CEO and co-founder of the project, S.Y. Lee (Seung-yoon Lee) is unquestionably at the core of Story Protocol.

Back during his university years, S.Y. Lee served as the first Asian president of the world-renowned debate society, the Oxford Union. He organized various panel discussions and speaking events featuring speakers such as the U.S. Senator John McCain and Silicon Valley heavyweight Peter Thiel. The prestige of this presidency extended to the point that luminaries like Einstein, Churchill, and Reagan have all delivered speeches at the Union. In addition to this, S.Y. Lee’s internship experiences included the U.S. House of Representatives and the Korean National Assembly.

By 2014, shortly after graduating from university, S.Y. Lee founded Byline with the aim of crowdfunding to support the news industry, which had its advertising business model disrupted by tech giants. Just one year into entrepreneurship, S.Y. Lee shifted his focus to the serialized fiction platform Radish, assisting creators in developing high-quality intellectual properties in bulk. In a mere five years, S.Y. Lee successfully sold the Radish platform for a staggering $440 million to the South Korean tech giant Kakoo and assumed the role of Global Chief Strategy Officer at Kakoo Entertainment.

In the realm of Web3, S.Y. Lee boasts significant experience. In 2021, he was promoted to become a venture partner at Hashed, South Korea’s largest blockchain fund. The fund has invested in numerous seed-stage investments of Web3 metaverse companies, including Axie Infinity and Sandbox.

As a serial entrepreneur in the news content industry and an investor in the Web3 space, S.Y. Lee recognizes the importance and potential of using Web3 to reshape the status quo. He hopes to leverage Web3 technology to build a network of fans and creators, using financial incentives to empower various nodes in a distributed network. Unlike traditional NFT projects, S.Y. Lee aims to harness the creative power of the network at its core, constructing a fan network.

These principles and experiences led A16Z to immediately support him in building an all-star founding team, providing comprehensive assistance ranging from recruitment, legal matters, to token design, and strategic advice after hearing S.Y. Lee’s vision.

Jason Levy

Co-founder Jason Levy brings extensive experience in storytelling to the table. After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California, Jason spent a remarkable five years working in the finance department at Apple Inc. Following this, he pursued an MBA at Stanford University. After graduation, Jason Levy dedicated himself to exploring the intersection of art and technology.

Initially, Levy joined Episode, a leading storytelling platform on mobile devices, where he played a key role in creating two blockbuster IP titles that generated tens of millions in revenue for the company. Subsequently, Levy ventured into the world of mobile “metaverse” entrepreneurship, founding Worlds Between Worlds, a company focused on creating a rich immersive experience on mobile devices.

In 2022, Jason Levy crossed paths with S.Y. Lee. He was astounded by the power of Web3 to grant true ownership to contributors and, based on this insight, recognized the potential of the Web3 community in breaking marketing bottlenecks and unleashing creativity. Jason Levy aims to harness the power of large-scale collaboration within the IP ecosystem, leveraging network effects to achieve the seemingly impossible.

Jason Zhao

Co-founder Jason Zhao boasts a robust interdisciplinary background with a strong focus on AI. He earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Stanford University and continued his studies at the same institution in computer science at the graduate level. During his undergraduate years, Jason Zhao founded Stanford Rewired, a publication dedicated to exploring the intersection of technology and society.

Following graduation, Jason Zhao held a position as a product manager at Google’s DeepMind project, where he worked on commercializing cutting-edge AI research findings. During his time at DeepMind, he was astonished by the rapid evolution of technology in the cryptocurrency industry and the seamless connection between technology and politics, which captivated his interest. Consequently, he naturally joined the founding team, exploring the potential of blockchain technology to empower creators.

Core Contributors

• Allen Chuang: Contributor at buzhiDAO.

• Ben Sternberg: Radish Fiction CFO and former business partner of S.Y.Lee.

• Gatsby Kim: Pursued a Master’s degree in Berkeley and served as Personnel and Finance Director at Radish Fiction, previously working with S.Y.Lee.

• Jonny Chang: Undergraduate from UC Davis, Senior Information Security Analyst at VMware.

• Leo Chen: VP leading Story Protocol’s engineering team, formerly worked as Software Development Manager at AWS and VP of Development at Harmony.

• Liz Tingue: Head of Story at Story Protocol, undergraduate from Columbia University, and postgraduate studies at Harvard.

• Raúl Martínez: IP protocol and smart contract architect.

• Spyros Tsiounis: Former story developer at several companies.

• Susan Park: Design lead at Story Protocol, with a master’s degree in Design and Visual Communications from Carnegie Mellon University, previously worked as a Design Lead for Web3 products at Google.

• Weilei Yu: Head of Growth at Story Protocol, formerly Market and Developer Relations Lead at Flow Blockchain and CMO at Subspace Labs.

• Ze Huang: Engineer at Story Protocol

……

Advisors

David Goyer: known for his work as the screenwriter for “The Dark Knight” trilogy and the “Blade” trilogy, as well as his role as the head of series at Apple TV+.

Taryn O’Neill: A full-time Hollywood director and screenwriter, Taryn serves as a researcher at Avalon. With over two decades of experience both in front of and behind the camera, she has appeared in over 40 productions. As a futuristic filmmaker, Taryn possesses profound insights into GenAI and content creation. She has played roles as an actor, screenwriter, director, and producer, creating the science fiction short film “LIVE,” which critically examines the potential dangers of artificial intelligence to human society. This film has garnered over 550,000 views on YouTube.

Jon Rogers: Master degree in Management and Applied Economics from Cornell University. Served as Chief Strategy Officer and CMO for multiple companies. He brings rich consulting and brand development experience across various domains, including blockchain, Layer 2 solutions, and NFTs.

Joseph Young: Co-founder of Decentralized Gaming Ventures and formerly associated with HASHED.

Liang Wu: Head of Research, Growth, Harvard Blockchain Club.

Seed Round Investors

Angle Investors

Cooperate Partners

On the night of September 7th, at Seoul’s Story Protocol event, several outstanding figures and contributors in the NFT space were invited to a dinner, including Frank, the founder of DeGods; Zagabond, the founder of Azuki; Poopie, the founder of Doodles; 9gag, the founder of Memeland; Daniel, the CEO of Yuga Labs; Vera, member of Apecoin DAO; and BETTY, the founder of Deadfellaz.

Also in attendance were many top artists:

Deekay: An animator and digital artist who has worked as a motion designer at renowned companies like Google and Apple for over 10 years. His work has been auctioned at prestigious auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

Emi Kusano: Co-founder and creative director of the NFT animation project Shinsei Galverse. Her 3D creations have been auctioned at Christie’s and in collaboration with Gucci.

ThankYouX: Founder of the NFT project STATE OF THE ART, known for collaborations with institutions like the Dubai Future Museum, the Béjart Modern Art Museum, and Sotheby’s.

There is no doubt that Story Protocol has deep resources and capabilities in IP creation and GenAI. With strong funding and resources from a16z and Hashed, as well as partnerships with top blue chip projects and NFT artists, Story Protocol is poised to bring the most valuable IP incubation infrastructure to the NFT world !

How should open IP infrastructure be developed?

Then we enter the most core and mysterious section: Story Protocol. What exactly is it doing?

Although the official whitepaper has not been released yet, we may glean some insights from the founders’ cryptic remarks on Twitter. In this section, I will consolidate the currently known information and, in conjunction with my understanding of “Git for IP,” discuss the open IP infrastructure as I envision it.

From the available information, it is apparent that Story Protocol is a foundational NFT protocol. This protocol provides two crucial infrastructures for creating composable “IP Lego blocks” and distributing ownership via blockchain networks:

1. Transparent on-chain IP repository.

2. A set of powerful modules to extend on-chain IP storage.

IP Repository

IP Repository is a set of underlying protocols deployed on the blockchain, a composable data structure that stores IP (Intellectual Property) as building blocks on the chain. By combining the immutability of blockchain with a Git-like project management approach, IP Repository can track the entire lifecycle of IP, create and manage IP, confirm and protect IP ownership, while effectively capturing intellectual property rights of creative works. Essentially, IP Repository introduces programmability to IP.

Sound confusing? I’d like to start by explaining what Git is as clearly as possible. In conceptual terms, Git is a distributed version control system, which involves two key concepts - distributed and version control.

Let’s start with version control. Let’s go through an example. Imagine you’re a designer working as the Second party, tasked with helping the first party create an event planning proposal. You happily submit the first version, but it’s naturally rejected by party A, who wants you to add some vibrant black colors.

So, you begin adding those vibrant black colors to the original proposal, but First Party is still unsatisfied. They now want you to make the logo larger while also making it a bit smaller… This continues, and you make changes up to the tenth version. At this point, party A says, “I actually prefer V1.” You suddenly realize with despair, “Oh no, I didn’t save V1!”

You are left with no choice but to rely on the modification comments party A provided on WeChat and start removing elements added in each version until you backtrack to the state of V1.

That’s right! Git is such a version control system. It records every change you make to files in each version and keeps track of the content changes in those versions. This way, you can retrieve the content of a file as it existed at any point in time using version numbers, avoiding the problem of not being able to backtrack.

Note that the core of Git is the storage of changes to files. Git doesn’t save the content of each version but rather the modifications made in each version relative to the previous one. Storing every complete version would be inefficient, and it would be impossible to distinguish between versions solely by file names and comments during the backtracking process. Version control would be ineffective in such a case. However, by saving the changes made in each version, as demonstrated in the example above, you can clearly determine which specific stage you need to backtrack to based on the incremental requirements of party A.

Having discussed version control, let’s now talk about what “distributed” means. This concept should be familiar to practitioners in the Web3 space. In centralized systems, all content is stored on centralized servers, and all participating nodes collaboratively modify the same project files. In contrast, distributed systems not only store the dataset on server nodes but also maintain a complete copy on each local computer.

As a result, every local computer stores the modification history of the project. You can use Git completely offline, making changes to your local copy and committing them to your local repository at any time. When the server goes offline, you can recover your data from any node in the distributed network. Once the connection with the server is restored, you can selectively synchronize your version changes based on the differences between your local repository and the server’s project files.

In addition to its core functionalities, Git has designed some data structures to facilitate version tracking, including:

1. Using SHA-1 to hash project content.

2. Storing hash values in a tree-like structure to record the chronological order of modifications between different versions.

3. Providing simple explanations for each version change.

With this distributed version control model, Git has become an essential skill for developers, greatly improving the speed and efficiency of collaborative projects.

Back to the Story Protocol. IP Repository, as the “Git of the IP world,” is likely a form of distributed version control system, but it’s implemented on the blockchain through smart contracts. The “distributed” aspect is self-evident, as blockchains naturally support distributed access and modifications. Let’s consider an example of version control within the IP Repository framework using Azuki from Wale.swoosh. Initially, there’s an original version of Azuki, and Azuki’s owner makes some derivative modifications. One version removes clothing, and another adds a mask from Mocaverse. IP Repository links these versions together, forming a simple tree of derivatives.

What if it’s a big IP? For instance, Fudan Blockchain constructs a worldview known NFT IP as the “Danmao” on top of the IP Repository and grants IP licenses to holders through the sale of first-generation NFTs. Some individuals start creating AI derivatives using their own “Steel Danmao” IP, while others further fragment ownership. Some even merge the Danmao IP with DC Comics IP, creating collaborative IPs. As a result, contributions and creative adaptations made by various individuals on this IP can be permanently stored on the blockchain. This process, guided by version control logic, establishes a comprehensive IP evolution network. Through smart contracts, the construction of this network can be automated.

This is my understanding of the next-generation programmable and scalable IP network.

Powerful Modules

With the core network entity, IP Repository, various powerful modules can be built on top of the network. From available information, it’s known that these modules include at least the following:

1. License Module: IP can be sold in a manner similar to NFT projects, where sub-IPs are sold to early fans or professional creators looking to expand their influence, enabling them to kickstart their projects.

2. Liquidity Module: Through mechanisms akin to NFTFi (lending, fractionalization), ownership of individual IPs can be further fragmented, granting franchising rights.

3. Royalty Sharing Module: Nodes within the network, representing various sub-IPs, can share royalties, incentivizing different IP participants based on network metrics.

4. Collaborative Creation Module: Collaborative creation connects different IPs for cooperation and joint projects.

As the IP network grows, the overall royalty income of the network continues to increase. More and more contributors are motivated to acquire IP licenses and participate in network development, further expanding the network effect of IP. This solution effectively addresses the issue between openness and value capture because a more open IP network can create more sub-nodes, capturing more value. Additionally, it eliminates the distinction between creators and consumers. Initially, you might consume the IP license, but as the network grows and you continue to contribute, you gradually reap the value of the entire IP network’s royalty sharing.

Now, let’s delve into the brainstorming part. As the Protocol acts as a neutral platform, how can contributions be objectively measured and fair incentives be provided? Git does not inherently support contribution quantification mechanisms, but there are Web3 projects that have begun to experiment with incentive models for Git. Hashed CEO Simon Kim shared a diagram in a tweet, and the project behind it, SourceCred, aims to measure the contributions of community developers in Git and provide value rewards.

SourceCred is positioned as a “data platform for the development lifecycle” which aligns closely with the concept of Story Protocol in “tracking the full lifecycle of IP.” Its primary goal is to facilitate different reward strategies for contributors. This requires constructing a node graph for the contribution network based on the version control structure of Git repositories. Using the example of the diagram you mentioned, each node on the graph represents assets within the repository (such as users, comments, issues, pull requests, etc.), and the edges represent relationships between these assets (such as user contributions).

On top of this contribution graph, SourceCred employs a set of contribution algorithms to determine how much value contributors have added to the entire project and allocate the corresponding amount of $Cred. Essentially, this algorithm calculates the importance of contribution nodes within the network. \(Cred functions like water, with each node acting like a pond. \)Cred flows freely between ponds, maintaining dynamic equilibrium. Factors like how many small streams are near the pond (number of connecting edges), the size of adjacent ponds (importance of adjacent nodes), and the strength of the water flow (edge weights) collectively determine how much water can flow into a specific pond. The amount of $Cred a particular node possesses is precisely equal to the amount flowing into that node and also equal to the amount flowing out. For those familiar with algorithms, this is essentially a form of PageRank algorithm on a weighted graph.

Assuming that Story Protocol, like Git, places the IP network on top of a blockchain, it can similarly construct contribution relationships within the IP network based on individual sub-modules. Then, by utilizing a PageRank algorithm, it can calculate the network importance of each node, quantifying each creator’s contribution within the IP network, allowing royalties to flow within the IP network, akin to $Cred.

Developer Community

Story Protocol’s team has consistently emphasized the importance of a developer community. This serves as another ecosystem outside of IP licensing, offering development and support in crowdfunding tools, IP discovery, licensing modules, asset authentication, and community development.

Conclusion

By grasping the core concept of “Git for IP,” we can better understand Story Protocol’s vision and potential development directions in building an open IP infrastructure.

• With strong backing from top-tier investors and a team of all-star project leaders with extensive experience in IP creation, Story Protocol has the potential to introduce a new IP co-creation paradigm that goes beyond existing NFT approaches.

• Through ownership proofs stored on the blockchain and smart contracts that execute automatically, Story Protocol aims to grant ownership of native IP or derivatives to all creators and enthusiasts, establishing an IP evolution network.

• By harnessing network effects, Story Protocol can better balance openness and value, leveraging network algorithms for precise incentives and continually amplifying the network effects of IP, breaking free from the constraints of existing platforms.