Digital Doubts Dog Kodak Coin

The New York Times’s Kevin Roose picks apart KodakCoin, the digital rights crypto-currency play launched recently by Kodak and WENN Digital. Roose points to Cameron Chell, a motivational speaker whose firm, Appcoin Innovations was a literary agency a year ago before becoming a crypto-consultancy:

Make no mistake: Digital rights management is a real issue for photographers, and the blockchain does, in theory, offer a compelling solution. But the specific attributes of KodakCoin present some red flags. First, despite the name, KodakCoin is not actually a Kodak project. The company behind the offering, WENN Digital, is a California-based affiliate of a British photo agency that specializes in paparazzi photo licensing. Under their licensing agreement, Kodak will not receive any direct revenue from the public offering. It will receive a minority stake in WENN Digital, 3 percent of all KodakCoins issued and a royalty on future revenue.

Kodak’s Dubious Blockchain Gamble  (The New York Times)