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A researcher, biotech company, or research sponsor mints an IP-NFT to tokenize their IP and research data on Ethereum. |
IP-NFTs present a fresh pathway for researchers to receive funding, specifically useful for researchers focusing on diseases affecting people worldwide, or diseases not funded by traditional funding mechanisms (NIH, venture capital, etc.).
Traditionally, funding research is a laborious process involving bureaucratic organizations and/or length legal negotiations, limited to investors or philanthropists in one's personal network and jurisdiction. In contrast, raising research funding via IP-NFTs provides access to an internet-native, globally-sourced capital pool, with the click of a few buttons.
No more waiting for months to hear back from bureaucratic organizations who only fund projects that fit their biases, no more pulling out of term sheets at the last second by investors, just execution of instantaneous and immutable smart contracts. Researchers can leverage the global interest of patients and related stakeholders to continue their work, execute on the highest impact (not the most likely to get funded), and create a global community of supporters.
Utilizing IP-NFTs introduces a well-coordinated method for the supervision and transference of both IP and R&D data rights, fostering a platform for productive scientific collaboration. IP-NFTs intrinsically carry legal rights, and ensure those rights are seamlessly linked with the tokens throughout any exchanges. This consolidation of data rights generates aligned incentives and trustless collaboration between among scientific communities. With faster exchange of incentives, scientific collaboration can move at the speed of information.
With an on-chain record of ownership and management details, IP-NFTs can significantly streamline due diligence in IP licensing. The transparency and immutability of blockchain records can drive down the costs and complexities of confirming patent holders, tracking licensees, and researching prior valuations, bypassing the need for intermediaries. No more fear over another scientist stealing your ideas, just building on top of others' ideas with a ledger of record of attribution and value.
IP-NFTs can dramatically enhance liquidity in typically stagnant IP markets, traditionally bogged down by complex legal processes standing in the way of collaboration and IP exchange. IP-NFTs provide a straightforward, transparent platform for the exchange and consolidation of IP assets, offering a stark contrast to traditional, labor-intensive transactions. This seamless on-chain mechanism can fundamentally transform how IP transactions are conducted.
IP-NFTs enable the development of early-stage IP markets. By bundling potential IP from an upcoming R&D project into an early-stage IP-NFT, researchers can trade IP rights more efficiently, even before incurring the costs associated with filing patent protections. As a project progresses, late-stage IP-NFTs can encapsulate rights to trade secrets and patents, introducing innovative mechanisms for decentralized IP ownership, governance, and commercialization.
Through their compatibility with decentralized finance (DeFi) components, IP-NFTs can be integrated with other digital assets and software components. They also contribute to the growth of 'DeSci', the decentralized science movement. While still in its early stages, DeSci has the potential to revolutionize scientific collaboration and research, potentially involving billions of participants globally.
Minting an IP-NFT thus represents an exciting evolution in the management and commercialization of IP and R&D data, offering benefits from improved transparency and efficiency to novel funding and market creation opportunities.