📓Story Protocol SDK

To capture and make Intellectual Property as dynamic as possible on IPSwap and Versse, we utilize the Story Protocol infrastructure which provides a friendly developer environment for ukiyo to bring you the best platforms using the best builds.

What is Story Protocol?

Story Protocol revolutionizes the legal system for creative Intellectual Property (IP) by making IP "programmable" on the blockchain. This creates an API-like system where people and programs can license, remix, and monetize IP according to transparent terms set by the creators themselves.

Why?

First, the problem: Creators want to protect their IP (a legal concept), making it easy to license and monetize. Currently, this is handled through the traditional legal system, which involves lawyers, is extremely expensive, and time-consuming. Additionally, allowing others to use and grow your IP requires one-to-one licensing deals, which need more lawyers, more money, and are unscalable. Consequently, most licensing simply doesn't happen.

How?

Creators can register their IP as “IP Assets” on Story Protocol. IP Assets (IPA) are the foundational programmable IP metadata on Story Protocol. Each IPA includes:

• An on-chain NFT, which could be an existing NFT like Azuki or a new NFT specifically minted to represent some off-chain IP like a real-world asset.

• An associated IP Account, which is a modified ERC-6551 (Token Bound Account) implementation.

To interact with IP Assets within the protocol, we use “modules” such as licensing, royalty, and dispute modules. For example, the owner of an IP Asset can set terms on their IP, like whether derivative works can use the IP commercially (and at what cost). Creators of derivative works can then extend their work by minting “License Tokens” (outlined by the terms and also represented as NFTs themselves) using the Licensing Module, create revenue streams from derivative works using the Royalty Module, or raise a dispute using the Dispute Module.

Although on-chain, an IPA’s terms and minted License Tokens are enforced by an off-chain legal contract called the Programmable IP License (PIL💊), which outlines real legal terms for how creators can remix, monetize, and create derivatives of their IP. The IP Assets and modules automate and enforce those terms, creating a bridge between the legal world (PIL) and the blockchain.

An Example

Before Story Protocol, creating a comic with someone else’s Azuki NFT and your Pudgy NFT required hoping the Azuki had a license, finding and contacting the owner, and researching license terms for your Pudgy. Since most people aren't legal experts, this typically required a lawyer to draft a new contract between the two IPs. This process is burdensome and impractical, leading to few creations except by large studios.

With Story Protocol, Azuki and Pudgy holders can register their IP as IP Assets and set terms using the PIL, outlining how people can license and remix their IP. If your Pudgy is registered on Story, anyone can see those terms on-chain and license your Pudgy automatically using the licensing module, which generates a real license agreement. You can then register the resulting comic as a derivative, and any revenue generated can be automatically distributed between you and the IP holders.