How Story Protocol Aims to Rewrite the Economics of Intellectual Property
Intellectual property (IP) is quietly changing into one of blockchain’s most sensible frontiers — not as digital artwork, however as programmable infrastructure linking AI, gaming, and artistic rights. BeInCrypto spoke with Andrea Muttoni, President and Chief Product Officer of Story, an on-chain IP platform constructing the rails for world licensing and royalty automation.
In this interview, Muttoni explains why adoption might arrive as a cultural second reasonably than a technical milestone, how the $IP token aligns worth with artistic exercise, and what authorized interoperability means for the subsequent decade of digital rights.
The Rise of Programmable IP and the Architecture Behind Story
Story Protocol, the firm behind the Story Network, launched in February 2025 and goals to turn into the “IP layer of the Internet.”
After elevating $54 million in 2023 and one other $80 million in 2024, led by a16z, the workforce launched a purpose-built layer-1 blockchain. It enables IP Assets (tokenized works), Programmable IP Licenses (PILs), and a Royalty Module for real-time, on-chain income distribution.
“We constructed Story to make mental property programmable throughout mediums,” Muttoni mentioned. “Whether it’s AI-generated information, digital belongings, or movie IP, creators ought to have a clear means to license and monetize their work.”
Supporters view this structure as a basis for clear provenance and composable licensing. Critics query whether or not smart-contract licenses can maintain up in courtroom with out authorized recognition.
The Evolving Inflection Point for On-Chain IP
With over $80 trillion in artistic belongings globally, on-chain IP is rising as a market layer linking creators, enterprises, and AI platforms. Story already hosts greater than 200 groups and 20 million IP registrations throughout leisure, gaming, and information functions.
“There gained’t be a single inflection level for on-chain IP as a result of mental property retains evolving,” Muttoni mentioned. “We’ve constructed Story to evolve in parallel — with integrations throughout AI, gaming, and Hollywood — so creators can observe and license works instantly.”
“The actual inflection level is probably not uncooked numbers however a cultural second — like a remix of BTS artwork changed into a sport with automated income sharing by way of Story,” he added. “When thousands and thousands use on-chain IP with out realizing it’s Web3, that’s when the shift has occurred.”
This view aligns with WIPO’s 2024 World Intellectual Property Report, which notes that world IP capability stays concentrated in fewer than ten economies. Digital IP markets, it provides, nonetheless depend on institutional reasonably than technical integration. The inflection level for tokenized IP might rely as a lot on coverage harmonization as product adoption.
Efficiency and New Royalty Rails on Story
Traditional royalty methods corresponding to ASCAP pay creators quarterly by means of layers of intermediaries. Story goals to modernize that course of.
“Today, royalties movement by means of opaque intermediaries and take months to attain creators,” he mentioned. “On Story, programmable royalties settle in seconds, not months — and transfer globally with out friction. That’s transformative for impartial artists and rising markets.”
Yet, as the IMF’s 2025 Fintech Note warns, real-time tokenized settlement can heighten systemic danger if oversight and liquidity buffers lag. Instant payout is highly effective — however with out safeguards, it may outpace regulation. Story’s long-term success might depend upon integration with regulated monetary rails.
Incentives and Integration Across the IP Economy
“Our present IP system is damaged,” Muttoni mentioned. “Creators and enterprises are combating AI firms, however what’s wanted is a tech-native framework the place IP will be freely licensed and guarded at scale. Story offers the rails rights organizations can combine into — not compete with.”
Legal battles between AI builders and rights holders expose a structural hole: the web outpaced infrastructure defending artistic work. The World Economic Forum’s 2025 tokenization report notes that such markets evolve “non-linearly and in phases.” Adoption often begins inside permissioned, regulated environments — not open networks. Story’s declare of “authorized interoperability” might thus require a phased rollout aligned with information privateness and jurisdictional norms.
UX Simplification and Creator Retention
“Licensing and rights administration have lengthy been reserved for studios with attorneys,” Muttoni mentioned. “Through our IP Portal, anybody can register IP on-chain in minutes — no attorneys, no intermediaries, no platform charges. The purpose is to make licensing intuitive, not bureaucratic.”
Still, the US Patent and Copyright Offices’ 2024 Report to Congress stresses that blockchain transfers don’t alter IP regulation. Copyright and trademark assignments nonetheless want written, signed agreements. For now, Story’s on-chain licenses act as metadata layers, not binding devices, till smart-contract enforceability is codified.
Reflexivity and Story Token Governance
“Reflexivity is regular in crypto markets,” Muttoni mentioned. “But IP registered on Story is tied to real-world use circumstances. The $IP token powers licensing, staking, and governance — a productive asset linked to artistic exercise, not hypothesis.”
The CFA Institute’s 2024 analysis presents a extra reserved view: tokenization might unlock new asset courses however faces valuation opacity and custody danger. Institutional traders, it argues, will deal with IP tokens as infrastructure evolution, not speculative performs — a stance that might mood hype round Story’s $IP token.
Data as a Market Signal
As AI’s want for rights-cleared information grows, new metrics might outline IP worth — licensing quantity, royalty accruals, and provenance velocity.
“Some of the Most worthy IP will likely be belongings licensed for AI coaching,” Muttoni mentioned. “AI’s bottleneck isn’t compute — it’s rights-cleared information. Poseidon, a venture on Story, lets anybody license real-world information as IP, creating measurable worth between information suppliers, AI builders, and customers.”
This mirrors feedback from Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Head of Product & Research at Grayscale, who described Story as “linking blockchain coordination to AI mannequin coaching.” She famous that Poseidon’s mannequin might flip on a regular basis human exercise into tokenized, rights-cleared information for machine studying. Her remarks present how programmable IP would possibly unite artistic economies and AI growth inside one infrastructure.
The overlap between IP and AI underscores a broader coverage debate. The WIPO 2024 report notes that innovation thrives when regulation, analysis, and commerce evolve collectively. Story’s long-term success might rely much less on token mechanics and extra on whether or not world IP governance retains tempo with know-how.
Conclusion
Programmable IP is shifting from idea to infrastructure. Story’s combine of automation, governance, and interoperability locations it at the crossroads of tradition and code. Yet as stories from WIPO, IMF, WEF, CFA, and the US Copyright Office emphasize, progress will likely be gradual and compliance-driven. If profitable, Story might redefine how artistic rights transfer by means of the world economic system; if not, it might stay a prototype awaiting regulatory alignment.
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