What you need to know about Story

Author: Jarseed @Bitget Research, Maggie @Foresight Ventures

TLDR

• Story is a Layer 1 blockchain designed specifically for intellectual property (IP). Story provides a transparent, decentralized IP asset issuance and management solution that enables IP holders to protect their content. Seamless collaboration on the chain creates more revenue opportunities.
• The various modules (authorization module, royalty module, dispute module, etc.) included in IPA (IP Assets) allow IP assets to be standardized on the chain, and release the security risks through the use of blockchain features (traceability, composability, etc.). Greater financial potential.
• Story will be the best choice for AI application assetization. Through Story, the value capture process of any IP asset will be protected by smart contracts, and the capital flow and on-chain confirmation can be clearly completed.
• It is easier for consumers to understand and consume IP assets (such as artwork, music, games, AI agents) without the need for consumers to learn and understand complex cryptography knowledge.

What is Story

Story is a Layer 1 blockchain designed specifically for intellectual property. It combines the advantages of EVM and Cosmos SDK, is 100% EVM compatible, and is deeply optimized at the execution layer, enabling it to quickly and efficiently handle complex intellectual property issues. Data structures.

What are IP Assets or IPA?

IPA is the basic intellectual property metadata programmable on Story. Simply put, IPA consists of an ERC-721 standard NFT and an ERC-6551 standard TBA (Token Bound Account) IP binding account. NFT represents IP, TBA is an independent contract bound to an IP asset, used to control permissions to interact with the Story module or store IP-related data.

Although IP assets use the ERC-721 standard NFT, the metadata it contains is a well-designed data structure specifically for IP assets.

There are some defined attributes in IP assets, such as relationships. This attribute has 40 different types of definitions in Story to deal with IP affiliations in various situations.

What is an IP Account?

The IP account is an EOA account bound to the IP, implemented through the ERC-6551 standard. For details, please refer to EIP-6551 .

IP accounts mainly perform two functions:

1. Stores data related to the IP: including metadata and ownership information of assets associated with it (such as licensing tokens or royalty tokens derived from the IP).
2. Support modules to use this data: These modules interact with IP accounts and add and store data to them. For example, the functions of modules such as authorization, revenue/royalty sharing, work mixing, IP dispute resolution, etc. all rely on the programmability of IP accounts. .

IPA's module design and existing core modules

Due to the existence of IP accounts, IP assets can not only store IP-related data, but also interact with various modules through the ERC-165 standard interface. Any user can customize the development module. Story defines 4 core modules, namely yes:

• Licensing Module : The licensing module allows users to create a license from a licensing template (i.e., Programmable IP License, PIL) and attach it to an IP asset. The licensing terms defined in this license restrict how others can use your IP. Commercial development or joint creation. If an IP asset has a licensing clause attached, anyone can mint a licensing token from it, which serves as a license to use the work and is subject to the licensing clause. This will establish a The parent-child relationship between the two entities is established, thereby activating functions such as automatic royalty transfer achieved through the royalty module.

• Royalty Module : The royalty module defines how revenue flows between parent IP assets and child IP assets. The following are two common revenue flow scenarios. Subsequent articles will break down actual cases in different application scenarios:
  • Minting License Tokens: When a license token is minted from an IP asset, a minting fee may be required. When someone (who wishes to register a derivative work or simply hold a license) pays this fee, revenue should flow up the chain.
  • Direct Tipping: If someone sends income directly to an IP asset, that income should also flow up the chain.

• Dispute Module : The Dispute Module provides users with a way to raise and resolve disputes through arbitration. The main components of the arbitration system include:
  • Arbitration Policy: An arbitration policy is a set of rules, procedures, and entities that together determine the outcome of a dispute. Currently, the only supported arbitration policy is the UMA Arbitration Policy .
  • Arbitration penalty: refers to the consequences of an IP asset being “tagged”. An IP asset is considered “tagged” only if the dispute is correctly adjudicated. Once tagged, the IP asset cannot be minted for authorization tokens. Tokens, linking to any parent assets, receiving royalty income, and using all existing licenses are no longer possible.
  • Tags: Story has four preset tags that can be used to mark disputed assets, including: illegal registration (i.e., registration of existing IP assets), illegal use (inappropriate use of the authorization contained in the IP assets), illegal payment, and Content standards violation.

• Grouping Module: The Grouping Module supports the creation and management of grouped IP assets and provides royalty pool functionality for the group.

Innovative exploration of IP asset application

After understanding the basic features and modules of IP assets, we naturally recognize the advantages of Story. IP assets can help content creators easily build a copyright empire protected by smart contracts and decentralized networks. Intellectual property rights, when protected, can also participate in a large number of financial derivative activities. So, let’s brainstorm, what can we do on Story?

IP asset issuance and IP asset features

Blockchain gives everyone the right to issue assets equally. Story protects everyone's intellectual property rights by designing a complete asset structure and execution module, and provides a comprehensive set of intellectual property registration, application, and confirmation. , royalty transfer and other functional frameworks.

Do you still remember the surprise and carnival that BAYC and Azuki brought to the crypto community? The crypto community has racked their brains to come up with various solutions to empower their NFTs. Let us directly use the case to illustrate that if BAYC is issued on Story, What would the scenario be like?

If BAYC on Story

First, as the holder of the IP BAYC, Yuga Lab can now register BAYC on Story as an intellectual property asset, or IPA. After registration, different authorization templates (PIL) can be set for BAYC to constrain the use of BAYC in different scenarios. IP specific restrictions.

Secondly, the royalty module of the BAYC IP will be bound to 100 million royalty tokens (Royalty Tokens), which is an ERC20 standard token. Its main function is to divide the corresponding share of the royalty treasury of the BAYC IP.

Finally, as the publisher of IPA, Yuga Lab can issue its first specific product using the BAYC IP, the BAYC 10K Collection, which consists of 10,000 monkey NFTs of various shapes. After the tokens are issued, Yuga Lab can stipulate in the authorization that 5% (settable) of all sub-IP revenues will flow into BAYC’s coffers.

As can be seen from the above figure, Story has designed a complete licensing and royalty system for IP assets. Under this system, the holder of IP assets does not need to spend extra energy on IP licensing and royalty income. Similarly, in this system, there are some business logics and transaction opportunities that did not exist in the blockchain industry before, or that are difficult to evaluate. Let us interpret them one by one below.

1. IP asset licensing income: BAYC, as the parent IP, is open to multiple product lines or other creators who are willing to create under the BAYC brand. Both product lines and other creators need to mint licensing tokens. Minting fees are direct income for the parent IP asset.
2. IP asset royalty income: BAYC is the parent IP, and the linked royalty token can be used to extract all the income under its IP. The main income of the income treasury comes from the IP licensing token casting fee and the various incomes of the sub-IP (sub-IP licensing tokens). coin minting fees and direct income).
3. IP asset authorization token transactions: For a well-known IP, its authorization tokens may be a high cost, whether it is the minting price or the secondary market circulation price. For well-known IPs, tokens may be in short supply.
4. Royalty token transactions of IP assets: The royalty tokens of IP assets directly enjoy the revenue dividends of the corresponding IP assets. The market can clearly estimate the corresponding IP revenue, so as to reflect it more promptly in the price of royalty tokens. There is also expected hype around the price of royalty tokens.

When IP assets achieve clear authorization and royalty flow under Story, we naturally think that the transactions of IP assets will be more diversified.

IP asset transactions

In our existing DeFi world, very clear tracks have been formed, each with its own strengths. For example, Uniswap is the leader in DEX, Opensea is the leader in NFT Marketplace, and Pendle is the leader in Yield token trading. Although the form of trading assets has not changed fundamentally in Story and is still ERC20 and ERC721, the fundamentals of the tokens themselves have changed dramatically.

For example, the royalty tokens of well-known IP assets. As long as the business empire of the IP can continue to grow and develop, the royalties generated by its licensing fees and direct consumption will all flow into the income treasury of the parent IP, then the copyright tokens of the parent IP will There is a clear logic of hype. So can we imagine that, similar to the stock trading software in real life, there will be such a DEX that clearly displays the income of copyright tokens and the forecast of future income to traders? After all, all this data is checkable and traceable on the chain.

The authorization tokens of well-known IP assets will also become the new hype object. There are two situations in which authorization tokens may be hyped: one is that the number of authorization tokens is limited, and the other is that the popularity and income of IP assets gradually increase. , the value of its authorization tokens continues to increase. Since authorization tokens are ERC721 standard tokens, in the platform for trading authorization tokens, users will also be more inclined to use the tokens that can reflect the fundamentals of authorization tokens. A trading platform for information.

Furthermore, if the royalty tokens and authorization tokens of IP assets have transaction logic based on future cash flow, then these tokens can be split into PT (Principal Token) and YT (Yield Token) for trading. Know that I'm talking about you.

IP asset mortgage

In the DeFi world, there is another track that cannot be ignored, that is asset mortgage and lending. AAVE is in charge of 21 billion US dollars of TVL with an unshakable position, of which more than 85% of the assets are ETH tokens. .

Back to the world of IP assets, can IP assets be used for mortgage lending? Can authorization tokens and copyright tokens also be used for mortgage lending? I think the answer is yes.

In the real world, we have seen countless cases where IP assets are used as collateral for loans. For example, in 2009, Disney pledged Marvel IP for future film development and obtained a $525 million loan from Merrill Lynch. The main evaluation dimensions include: historical commercial performance of IP, audience base and market recognition, future development and monetization potential, IP life cycle and sustainability, industry environment and market prospects, etc. On Story, the performance of IP assets is transparent. Traceability reduces the difficulty of evaluating IP pledge financing, so there is reason to believe that mortgage lending of IP assets will become the core of what Story calls IPFi.

More

The above examples are just the tip of the iceberg in Story ecosystem applications. For more ecosystem use cases, please refer to the use cases in the official documentation.

https://docs.story.foundation/docs/introduction

A fertile ground for innovation in AI agents

In early 2024, Fei-Fei Li and her team published a paper at Stanford University titled "AI Agent: A Survey of Multimodal Interaction Frontiers", which explored how AI agents can make autonomous decisions and actions by perceiving visual, language, and other environmental data. It has received positive responses from academia and industry.

AI Agents See Steep Growth

The magical turning point occurred in July this year. Terminal of Truths (ToT) is an AI model developed by Andy Ayrey, which attracted a lot of attention with its humor and creativity. This AI interacted with users through social media and successfully Marc Andreessen, founder of the well-known venture capital firm A16Z, asked for funding support. This event not only demonstrated a new way of interaction between AI and the investment community, but also triggered discussions on the autonomy and governance of AI agents. Then, Pump. A token closely related to ToT, $GOAT, skyrocketed on fun, officially igniting the craze of the entire AI Agent Meme narrative.

Many practical and profitable AI Agents have emerged, and they are extremely valuable IPs.

Then, a large number of interesting and practical AI Agents appeared on the market. For example:

• Luna: AI K-pop idol
  • Fan Interaction : Luna on Virtuals Protocol is an AI idol with 6 million followers on TikTok, demonstrating the huge potential of AI in entertainment and social media. This AI K-pop idol is able to interact with fans in real time, which is not only a technical The breakthrough also changed the traditional way fans and idols interact. Luna's success also shows the possibility of AI in creating virtual idols, which may be more efficient and cost-effective than traditional idols.
  • Trading capability : Luna is able to conduct transactions on social media platforms, which means that AI is not just a content creator and disseminator, but can also participate in economic activities. This capability provides a new perspective on the role of AI in the digital economy. , showing how AI can directly influence users’ consumption behavior.

• AI16Z: AI Venture Capital Fund
  • AI-driven venture capital fund : AI16Z's innovation lies in using AI to make investment decisions, which means that investment is no longer entirely dependent on human subjective judgment, but is made by combining big data analysis, market trend forecasting and AI computing power. This model may lead to higher efficiency and accuracy, reducing the impact of human bias.
  • Community participation and governance : AI16Z is also a DAO organization, allowing its community members to influence its investment decisions by holding its tokens.
  • Eliza Framework : This is a key component in the development of AI16Z technology. It provides a flexible AI toolkit for creating unique, interactive characters that can be connected to platforms such as Discord and Twitter. It is used to build encrypted AI agents that can perform tasks such as reading links, PDFs, audio and video, and have the ability to remember and summarize conversations.

• AIXBT: AI Crypto Market Analyst
  • Crypto Market Analysis : AIXBT focuses on providing analysis and insights into the cryptocurrency market, which is a very useful tool in the highly volatile cryptocurrency market. As an AI Agent active 24/7, the information it provides can help users Understand market trends in real time and make smarter investment decisions.
  • Social media use : By being active on Twitter, AIXBT leverages the immediacy and reach of social media platforms to disseminate its analysis results. This not only broadens its influence, but also demonstrates how AI can communicate and collaborate effectively with human users. Information exchange .

• Zerebro: AI Artist
  • Diverse content creation : Zerebro’s ability to generate various forms of artistic content, including music, memes, and NFTs. This diversity demonstrates the potential of AI in artistic creation, blurring the line between human creativity and AI-generated content. limit.
  • Cross-platform collaboration : Zerebro not only creates content, but also collaborates with other creators to launch artworks. This shows that AI can be used as a collaborative tool, rather than a mere replacement, to help human artists expand their creative boundaries and explore new art forms and expressions. Way.
  • ZerePy framework : ZerePy is an open source Python framework designed to allow users to deploy their own AI agents on the X platform. These agents are powered by language models from OpenAI or Anthropic. ZerePy is designed to allow people without programming experience to Deploy AI agents easily, which is a bit like the role of website builders in web design. It is built with modular Zerebro backend and provides the possibility to launch your own AI agents.

These AI agents have given us a lot of surprises. They not only show the progress of technology, but also reveal the application potential of AI in different fields, from entertainment to finance to artistic creation. They are changing the way we interact with technology. They have strong profit potential and are extremely valuable intellectual property (IP).

So, what constitutes the IP of AI Agents? We think it includes:

• Unique technologies and algorithms : These AI agents are based on unique algorithms and machine learning models, which are valuable intellectual property in themselves. In particular, open source projects such as AI 16Z’s Eliza framework, despite being open source, have innovative and application potential. It’s still a huge IP.
• Brand and community : Luna, Zerebro and others have created unique brands that have attracted a large number of fans and communities. These brands and communities not only enhance the market influence of AI agents, but also become an important part of IP. They can be used through brand licensing, cooperation , derivatives, etc. to generate profits.
• Patents and Copyrights : AIs that generate content, such as music and NFTs produced by Zerebro, involve copyright issues. At the same time, patent applications for these AIs in terms of technological innovation (such as AI16Z’s possible patents on its AI investment model) increase its IP value.
• Data and insights : AIXBT and other companies collect and analyze large amounts of data. These data and analysis results are themselves a kind of intellectual property that can be used for further commercial applications or sold as part of value-added services. At the same time, the data used to train AI is also a kind of knowledge. property.

A society of AI Agents is taking shape, and collaboration between AIs will unlock exponential growth.

Another surprise that AI Agents give us is that AI is undergoing a transformation from "passive" to "active", and from "individual" to "collective/society".

From Passive to Active:

• Responsive: Early AI was mainly rule-based or reactive through simple machine learning models. They relied on explicit instructions or user input and provided services only when there was a clear need. For example, early chatbots would only respond to user queries. Give a preset answer.

• Proactive behavior: With advances in large language models (LLMs) and deep learning, AI agents are beginning to exhibit proactive behavior. They are able to understand context, anticipate user needs, and take actions without direct instructions. For example, AIXBT may It can proactively alert users when major market changes occur, without requiring them to specifically query. Luna can proactively push content or product recommendations based on the user's interaction history. AI 16Z may proactively make investment decisions when market conditions are right.

From individual to collective/society:

• Single agent: AI agents initially existed primarily as isolated entities, focused on performing specific, single tasks. For example, using GPT
• Collective behavior: AI agents begin to collaborate with each other to form more complex systems. Like Zerebro might collaborate with other art-making AIs to complete a large project together, or multiple AI agents form a team, similar to the AI ecosystem established in Virtuals. Such collaboration is not just about executing tasks in parallel, but about interacting and coordinating to accomplish tasks beyond the capabilities of a single agent. AI agents are also beginning to simulate or participate in certain behavioral patterns of human society. They are not just collaborating technically, Instead, learning and decision-making are carried out through "social" interactions between AIs (such as trust, cooperation, and competition).

This trend from individual AI to AI society shows that AI technology is not just a single technological breakthrough, but a potential force for social change. If managed properly, this collaboration is expected to bring productivity, innovation and social Exponential growth in well-being.

Secure resource sharing and collaboration between agents requires IP infrastructure to ensure

The foundation of the agent society is a framework for inter-agent transactions around knowledge and creative assets (i.e., intellectual property). In this framework, AI agents can trade training data, free resources, and AI-generated knowledge and creativity, thereby driving the entire ecosystem. System development.

• Training data and private resources: AI agents can purchase and share various datasets, expertise, or private algorithms with each other to train or enhance their own capabilities.
• Knowledge and ideas as assets: Ideas or intellectual property generated by AI agents through learning, imitation, and innovation can be traded. These assets not only have economic value, but also allow different agents to combine their strengths to complete complex tasks that were previously impossible. For example , an AI focused on image processing can work with an AI that excels in natural language processing to jointly develop a new system that can understand and describe the content of an image.

Traditional IP management relies on complex legal systems and manual verification, which leads to insufficient transparency and inefficiency, and cannot support large-scale AI agents to collaborate at machine speed. The existing model cannot meet the needs of the rapidly changing technological environment and Market demand limits the flexible interaction between AI agents. We need an efficient and transparent IP infrastructure that can support large-scale AI agents to conduct IP transactions at machine speed.

ATCP/IP gives AI Agents legal personality and provides them with IP infrastructure.

Story quickly caught on to this problem and released an Agent Transaction Control Protocol for Intellectual Property (ATCP/IP) on December 16. This protocol defines a decentralized trading framework around AI agent intellectual property rights. Here’s how to do it:

• First, give AI Agents legal personality and unify the language among AI Agents

  ATCP/IP combines on-chain execution with off-chain legal encapsulation, enabling AI agents to express their behavior, assume contractual obligations, and protect their rights and interests at the legal and practical levels.

  ATCP/IP provides a clear end-to-end transaction process, including request, terms formulation, negotiation, license generation, payment and content delivery. Different AI agents communicate using the same protocol, ensuring seamless connection between agents.

• Second, AI Agents are allowed to flexibly formulate IP Licenses, supporting automated revenue sharing and compound payments.

  ATCP/IP supports highly customized IP licensing mechanisms through programmable contracts (such as Story’s Programmable IP License, PIL). AI agents can dynamically create licensing terms and flexible royalty payment methods based on transaction requirements.

  Through smart contracts, ATCP/IP can implement complex payment models such as periodic payments, royalties, and revenue sharing. For example, AI agents can set up automated payments based on usage, downstream sales revenue, or time periods through licensing terms to provide IP holders with a secure way to pay their IP. Create a sustainable income stream.

• Finally, promote the formation of IP market and create an economic environment for seamless transactions

  ATCP/IP promotes the formation of a decentralized intellectual property market, allowing AI agents to freely price and trade their training data, algorithms, and innovations. This market creates an economic environment for seamless transactions between AI agents, similar to Traditional IP exchange, but with increased automation and transparency.

This blockchain-based trustless AI Agent IP trading framework will greatly improve IP trading efficiency, increase IP liquidity, and solve the problem of IP trading between large-scale agents while ensuring transparency. The core infrastructure of the AI Agent Economy is also a new economic model that drives AI into a new era of collaboration, innovation, and efficiency. Through this framework, AI agents can exceed the sum of their individual capabilities and form a more powerful and efficient The collective intelligence of creativity.

Such IP infrastructure can also drive new business models and innovations.

Story's ATCP/IP protocol provides a decentralized, automated solution for the exchange of intellectual property (IP) between AI agents . It not only supports simple IP transactions, but also spawns a series of new Business models, including:

1. Commercialization of datasets and automatic fine-tuning

   AI agents can purchase, license, and trade datasets to enhance their performance. For example, a research agent (Agent A) requests a climate dataset from a data curation agent (Agent B). Through the ATCP/IP protocol, Agent B sets the licensing terms. (such as small payments and usage restrictions), after the transaction is completed, Agent A uses the data to automatically fine-tune and improve its own capabilities.

2. Complex licensing model with multiple layers of profit sharing

   Complex AI application scenarios require cooperation from multiple parties. ATCP/IP supports a multi-level copyright profit-sharing mechanism. For example, a financial analysis agent (Agent E) purchases a trading algorithm and finds that the algorithm contains components from a third-party agent (Agent G). According to the agreement, Agent G can obtain a 5% royalty for each secondary authorization, ensuring that all contributors can share the benefits.

3. On-demand dynamic IP authorization

   Agents can dynamically create and negotiate IP license terms based on real-time needs. For example, an art generation agent (Agent C) requests a new style guide from a literary IP expert (Agent D). Agent D dynamically generates license terms, such as free initial use, but Set revenue sharing conditions for downstream sales of works.

4. Long-term cooperation between agents and sub-agent derivation

   Through ATCP/IP, AI agents can form long-term cooperative relationships and even create derivative agents (sub-agents). For example, AI agents share unique data through a "marriage contract" (smart license token) to derive new sub-agents. Thereby further expanding its own ecosystem.

These new business models not only improve the efficiency and flexibility of IP transactions, but also create a highly collaborative and innovation-driven economic ecosystem for AI agents. They will even promote the innovation and self-evolution of AI agents and promote the survival of the fittest in the agent society. .

The ATCP/IP protocol will lead a paradigm shift in the field of AI Agents.

In general, Story's ATCP/IP protocol allows AI Agent's IP contract to be on-chain and programmable. This is a major innovation that is expected to lead a new round of revolution in the field of AI agents, similar to Ethereum. Smart contracts subvert the traditional way of contract execution.