The KODAKOne image rights platform will monitor and protect 10+ million images for social media content community Lobster across the web
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ICOx Innovations Inc. (OTC: ICOX) (the “Company” or “ICOx Innovations”), which creates loyalty, reward, gaming, and payment cryptocurrencies for established companies that can benefit and grow their business through blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies, announced today that its client, the blockchain-based KODAKOne Image Rights Management Platform and the KODAKCoin cryptocurrency, has struck a partnership with Lobster, an AI and machine learning-driven platform that helps photographers and social media users upload and monetize their photos and videos. Through the partnership, KODAKOne will monitor and protect the 10+ million images and later videos stored in Lobster’s database.
KODAKOne, which was created and operated by Ryde Holding (formerly WENN Digital, Inc.), is offering three key services through the agreement: an image recognition algorithm that can analyze billions of images within a fraction of a second; a network of web crawlers that monitor the web; and a post-licensing service that helps owners get compensated for their images that have been used without their consent (or that helps them take those images down). In a two-week test campaign, KODAKOne monitored the use of 10,000 images from Lobster’s library across the web and found a significant and material number of hits on average for each image.
“For us, the launch of our partnership with Lobster is a perfect use case for our mission: Giving photographers, artists and the average smartphone user full control of how their images are being used across the web,” said Jan Denecke, CEO at Ryde. “Before we launch our platform later this year, we are happy to see that our post licensing and global monitoring service is able to help so many people around the world already.”
Lobster’s platform licenses photos and videos from Instagram, Facebook, Flickr, Vimeo, YouTube, Dropbox, Google Photos, Verizon Cloud, VKontakte (VK), and Foursquare. The company uses AI and machine learning to apply sophisticated tagging, filtering, ranking, and curation to its database. More than 10 million images and videos are directly available, while Lobster has access to billions more upon request.
“We are excited to join forces with KODAKOne in identifying content that is being used across social media without permission,” said Olga Egorsheva, CEO of Lobster. “Providing this info to our users and empowering them to offer post-licensing to the (often unintentional) copyright infringers in a positive way will be extremely beneficial.”
As a next step, KODAKOne, which is powered by the KODAKCoin cryptocurrency, will register all of Lobster’s images on its blockchain. Once this is complete, Lobster will be able to offer monitoring and post-licensing to all its users upon request.
“One of the biggest challenges companies face is developing promising technologies but failing to gain widespread adoption,” said Bruce Elliott, President of ICOx Innovations, which helped create and launch KODAKOne. “This partnership with Lobster is one of the first cases of blockchain technology being adopted in the real world to protect rights and compensate creators for their work. With this partnership, KODAKOne is leading the way for big brands to bolster adoption by leveraging the technological innovation taking place within the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.”
Under a business services agreement, ICOx Innovations assists Ryde Holding with developing and integrating KODAKOne’s blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies, as well as strategy and corporate business development offerings relating to KODAKCoin and the KODAKOne platform. Ryde Holding has a brand licensing agreement with the iconic imaging technology company to use the Kodak brand in connection with the KODAKOne platform and KODAKCoin. ICOx Innovations has an equity stake in Ryde Holding.
About Ryde Holding, Inc.
Ryde Holding, Inc. (formerly WENN Digital, Inc.), a brand licensee of Eastman Kodak Company, is the creator and operator of the KODAKOne Platform and the KODAKCoin Tokens. Ryde and its advisors are an experienced development and operations team with expertise in proprietary blockchain development, big data, copyright law, AI-enabled image recognition and post-licensing monetization systems. For more information, go to kodakone.com.
About Lobster
Founded in 2013 in London, Lobster is an innovative content marketplace platform that connects brands, agencies, media, and creatives with authentic UGC sourced from ten social media and online archives. Based on a unique blend of new tech, Lobster makes it simple for clients to search, find, and license beautiful photos and videos from a growing global community of creators. For more information, go to https://lobster.media/.
About ICOx Innovations
ICOx Innovations, Inc. provides a platform for the design and creation of crypto economies that solve real-world problems with established organizations. ICOx Innovations provides operational insights intended to benefit and grow its clients’ businesses through the use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. The ICOx Innovations platform is compliance-driven and combines rigorous strategic planning, capital structuring, technical integration and token economics model development, designed to allow its clients to create sustainable economies. The ICOx Innovations team co-founded KODAKOne, a blockchain-based image-rights management platform, and is the co-architect of KODAKCoin, the token that will reward and incentivize the KODAKOne platform users. For more information on ICOx Innovations, go to: www.icoxinnovations.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company.
ICOX INNOVATIONS INC.
“Bruce Elliott”
Bruce Elliott
President
Disclaimer for Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements.” Statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the Company’s statements that: through the partnership with Lobster, KODAKOne will monitor and protect the 10+ million images and later videos stored in Lobster’s database; the KODAKOne platform will launch later this year; providing information to Lobster’s users regarding content that is being used across social media without permission and empowering them to offer post-licensing to the (often unintentional) copyright infringers in a positive way will be extremely beneficial; KODAKOne will register all of Lobster’s images on its blockchain, and once complete, Lobster will be able to offer monitoring and post-licensing to all its users upon request; with the partnership with Lobster, KODAKOne is leading the way for big brands to bolster adoption by leveraging the technological innovation taking place within the blockchain and cryptocurrency space; and KODAKCoin is the token that will reward and incentivize the KODAKOne platform users. The material assumptions supporting these forward-looking statements include, among others, that the Company’s future growth potential, results of operations, future prospects and opportunities; execution of the Company’s business strategy; there being no material variations in current regulatory environments; the Company’s operating expenses, including general and administrative expenses; the Company’s ability to obtain any necessary financing on acceptable terms; timing and amount of capital expenditures; retention of skilled personnel; continuation of current tax and regulatory regimes; and general economic and financial market conditions. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including: inability to efficiently manage the Company’s operations; general economic and business conditions; the Company’s negative operating cash flow; the Company’s ability to obtain additional financing; increases in capital and operating costs; general cryptocurrency risks; technological changes and developments in the blockchain and cryptocurrencies; risks relating to regulatory changes or actions; and competition for blockchain platforms and technologies; any of which may cause the Company’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Further, although the Company has attempted to identify factors that could cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results, levels of activity, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and Canada. Although the Company believes that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Readers should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in the reports and other documents the Company files with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, and on the SEDAR, available at www.sedar.com.
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