Blockzone – a new initiative for NFT by Christopher Emms and David Namdar

Non-fungible tokens are uniquely identifiable, with a specified role, purpose, and value. In other words, with NFTs, each token has a unique value and, unlike crypto currency, cannot be exchanged for another token of equal value.

It is important to notice that ownership of an NFT does not inherently grant copyright to whatever digital asset the token represents.  While someone may sell an NFT representing their work, the buyer will not necessarily receive copyright privileges when ownership of the NFT is changed and so the original owner is allowed to create more NFTs of the same work. In that sense, an NFT is merely a proof of ownership that is separate from a copyright. For artists, this is very important when selling their work through NFT.

This is why NFTs wield enormous monetary power in the entertainment and collectibles industries. For example, a band may sell unreleased music via an NFT. The benefit to the band is by selling an NFT to one owner and limiting the digital reproduction, they can receive royalties and control the distribution of their product. They can do that by limiting the IP rights associated with NFTs.

Control over IP rights is the basis for a new joint venture called ‘Blockzone’. Because of the non-fungibility of NFTs, a new distribution model for monetizing intellectual property has emerged, and numerous concerns must be considered when licensing, assigning, or transferring intellectual property rights. Having a similar organization to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for NFTs became imperative. The ICANN is a US-based not-for-profit corporation whose role is to coordinate, at the overall level, the global Internet’s systems of unique identifiers (IPs, domain names and protocol port and parameter numbers), and to ensure the stable and secure operation of these systems. It would improve regulation standards in a new age of intellectual property distribution. Blockzone will work as the ICANN for Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – it will log who owns NFTs and make it possible to transfer ownership.

Blockzone was idealized by Christopher Emms. Emms is a Gibraltar-based serial entrepreneur with an extensive track-record with startups, blue chip companies and venture capital. After several years spent working with tech heavyweights, Christopher pivoted into the Fintech and crypto sphere. He has worked in top roles for some of Europe and Britain’s most intriguing digital startups, with blockchain-related solutions. Focusing on business generation and key account management, he currently acts as founder and CRO of BitGaming, a comprehensive front and back-end gaming platform for crypto brands.

This project is being launched in partnership with VC David Namdar. David is an experienced businessman and entrepreneur, the co-founder of Galaxy Digital and the company’s Head of Digital Assets. Namdar has over a decade of international business and financial market expertise, having worked with a variety of companies ranging from start-ups to huge enterprises. He has investment expertise in private and public equities, derivatives, and foreign currencies and in using fundamental and quantitative analysis to invest on a global basis. Moreover, he has significant expertise across digital currency investments, fintech, e-wallets, blockchain technology, among other emerging and breakthrough technologies.