Hello! Let’s free the IP… this idea is unfathomable for most everyone in the film/tv industry. By all accounts, even thinking it would trigger alarm bells and tongue lashings. The concept is functionally the polar opposite of the business, which contractually seeks to control the narrative and capture value in all media forms, in every territory, throughout the universe, perpetually.
Audience - and IP - extraction.
Interestingly, many web3 projects are embracing a creative commons (CC0) license, of which there are six current copyright varieties that I’d encourage you to read, that essentially open sources many (if not all) commercial rights to a piece of work – mainly to the owners of their NFT. Let’s take a moment to remember Aaron Swartz who helped architect the CC0 framework as a teenager. Rest in peace.
Ideas, the internet, are founded on remix culture…
Fan fiction, mined. This realm of public domain is a quandary that fascinates since it takes to task the ideals around art and commerce, and digital scarcity and abundance. I believe most every creative project needs a visionary at the helm; a company, or creative work, run by committee is doomed to stagnate in grabby bureaucracy, or litigation - just ask Disney about Pirates.
Rights and royalties, meet derivative experimentation. Ultimately, I think specific licenses (e.g. character, setting) need to selectively land in the right passionate hands who’ll actually do something positive with the story. As it stands now, there’s a CC0 checkbox for most of these silly cartoon-animal NFT projects, which frankly won’t go anywhere.
Revival. The entertainment landscape has transformed into an adapted serialized franchise… it’s time to look beyond prequels and sequels, and into expansions, extensions, and re-imaginations. It’s one of the last ways to generate backend, some semblance of stability -- carve it out and hold on for dear life.
Look forward with lore and love, action and movement
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. Memetic canon. See ya next week.