Kodak film to launch KODAKCoin cryptocurrency

Kodak film announced plans to launch KODAKOne and KODAKCoin, a blockchain initiative and cryptocurrency for photographers. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI

Jan. 9 (UPI) — Kodak film announced it is entering a licensing partnership with WENN Digital to launch a blockchain initiative for photographers at the Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday.

The KODAKOne platform will seek to create an encrypted, digital ledger of rights ownership for photographers to register their work and receive instant compensation with Kodak’s KODAKCoin cryptocurrency.

“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 CEO Jeff Clarke said.

Kodak said the KODAKOne platform also will monitor and protect the IP of images registered and can efficiently manage the post-licensing process in order to reward photographers when unlicensed usage of images is detected.

“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,” WENN Digital CEO Jan Denecke said.

The initial coin offering for KODAKCoin will open for accredited investors from the United States, Britain, Canada and other select countries Jan. 31.

“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,” Denecke said.

Shares of Kodak’s stock rose $3.70, or 119 percent, to $6.80 as of 4:22 p.m. after the announcement, raising its market value to $289.5 million, according to Bloomberg.

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