Protocols and technologies such as blockchain, cryptographic hashing and public key cryptography make it possible to digitally sign and thereby appropriate certain rights and identities. The digital signature is the act of digital sovereignty, a new authority and control over a persistent and indissoluble bond that is able to link identities and self-descriptions, works and metadata.

The eco Blockchain Governance Framework (eBGF) is an initiative to create a framework that will support organisations that have the intention to set up a dedicated public-permissioned, consortial blockchain network.

By establishing a governance for the blockchain and the members of the consortium, the consortium creates a root of trust for the operation of the blockchain. A transparent documentation of the goals and values as well as the technology of the network will enhance the trust in the consortium and the blockchain. And it will improve the reliability and quality of the network, its services and the community in order to operate a professional, production-grade, public-permissioned blockchain.

For each of these topics, the eBGF will offer guidelines, recommendations for all relevant topics and links to best practice implementations of consortial blockchain networks.

The framework suggests a structure and possible paths for the creation of a specific network governance and possible paths for the actual writing process.

The decentralised publication of cryptographically verifiable metadata and rights management information, the use of decentralised identifiers for rightsholder and digital media assets, and the use of content certificates will allow decentralised and automated transactions peer-to-peer or machine-to machine using verifiable credentials (VCs).

The DE:PICT framework suggests the use of ISCCs, DIDs, VCs and blockchains for verified and verifiable decentralised digital content licensing at scale.

Licium allows rightsholders, content creators, media organisations and other users:

• to manage decentralised content identifiers for digital assets
• register them on public ledgers
• create non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
• generate and verify content certificates that prove authenticity of original content and rightsholder identities
• and inseparably associate metadata, licensing terms, rights management information and other claims with the content

– for a proper attribution and fair remuneration of creative work in increasingly networked and heterogeneous digital media environments

Freely accessible standard identifiers, which are specifically designed to manage digital content, are a fundamental prerequisite for efficient transactions in a decentralized and increasingly heterogeneous media environment.

The ISCC (International Standard Content Code) is the first open, generic identifier designed for digital media content. It can be used to register content on the decentralized ledger and also in off-chain environments.

The Content Blockchain is an open initiative and decentralized blockchain network tailored to the specific needs of the digital media content ecosystem. The global network supports content related transactions and digital media licensing. It operates based on an open governance model and is owned by the participants themselves.

The initiative is providing the foundational tools and standards required for building innovative applications and services on the blockchain. These enable creative individuals, media companies and cultural institutions to better discover, access, manage, share, offer and license digital media content and exchange value through the network.

Through my broad international network of marketing experts I am happy to support local publishers marketing books worldwide, which are not licensed in the traditional way, and connect publishers to readers in the various global markets.