ⓨ: A common-sense approach to NFT intellectual property
(and how y00ts will be the greatest collection of profile pictures of all time)
What is ⓨ?
ⓨ is our common-sense version of copyright & ownership for NFTs.
Think of ⓨ as a way of registering a “copyright (ⓒ)” with an NFT collection being the
governing body.
When holders build businesses, sub-communities, and even fan-art for an NFT, it
typically drives more value & attention to the NFT.
The current standards in the ecosystem don’t really support this.
Right now, we’re usually offered IP rights on just our individual NFT (like BAYC/Yuga
Labs) or CC0 where our NFTs are literally owned by the public domain.
Each collection would have it’s own ⓨ registry, where it’s easy to track who’s approved
to be using the NFT’s IP. This allows projects to approve & reject usage requests at
Web3 speed.
We want to test this model with y00ts, with an idea that would only be possible by using
a mechanism like ⓨ.
TLDR:
● We create the “y00ts st0re” for artists to submit their custom versions of traits.
○ Holders can also hire artists to do commissioned work for them.
● Artists will own the IP of their work & collect a % of royalties
● Holders can purchase the community created traits from the store.
○ Artists can also set the traits to be free, if they’d like.
● Holders can only apply one customized trait to their NFTs per month.
○ The customized traits can not change the shape/size/name of the trait.
■ A t-shirt can’t be changed into a fur coat (also must stay same size)
■ Will not change the metadata
● Community members can create & officially register sub-communities/sub-DAOs
○ They can charge $SOL for entry
○ Collect a % of royalties on all sales for their sub-communities
The y00ts st0re
We’re creating the “y00ts st0re” - a marketplace of custom made y00ts traits.
Anyone can submit customizations of any of the original y00ts traits for approval.
Approval Criteria:
● must fit the same space as the original trait (can not turn a t-shirt into a fur coat)
● must be identifiable by the original metadata tag (a hat can’t become a crown)
● no hate speech or pornographic imagery
● no direct usage of existing copyrighted IP
● meet a standard of quality to match the collection
Once approved, the individual(s) that submitted will own the ⓨ for the trait(s).
Owning the ⓨ for a trait enables you to:
● set the price of the trait on the y00ts store
● set the supply of the trait available
● sell the entire ⓨ to someone else
● collect 5% of the royalties on every sale of the trait
This also means nobody else can copy this trait/style/theme/brand going forward.
If attempted derivatives try to list on the marketplace - they won’t be approved.
After 6 months, no more user generated traits will be added to the y00ts st0re.
At this point, you will be able to separate your y00t into its individual pieces.
This means you could sell your limited-supply hoodie separately or swap it for another
trait.
From this point onwards, all the new traits added to the y00ts st0re will be via limited
supply collaborations with big apparel/lifestyle brands.
Customizing y00ts
You stake your y00ts for 30 days and a “ⓨ Token” is added to your y00t’s metadata.
● There will be a maximum of 6 ⓨ’s any y00t can hold.
● Metadata Example: “ⓨ Tokens: 1”
You can use this ⓨ token to apply a customized ⓨ trait from the y00ts st0re to your
y00t.
The trait must match the trait your y00t has on its metadata.
● example: swap your black hoodie for a custom golden hoodie
● The metadata will remain the same: “Hoodie”
Once the ⓨ token is used you can always swap any trait back to the original y00t base.
But you will have to wait another 30 days of staking before applying a new customized
trait from the y00ts st0re. So be careful which trait you choose.
If you never use the ⓨ token, your y00t will stack them - so you can sell your y00t at a
probable premium with the tokens attached.
How does ⓨ make me money?
With the ⓨ registration, we think we can unlock several layers of monetization for every
stakeholder involved.
Independent & 1/1 Artists can:
● make individual traits & charge SOL or DUST for them
● create fashion brands within the collection (spanning multiple traits)
● do paid (or free) commission work for holders
● collect money in perpetuity via % of royalties.
Artists are incentivized to sell their work on the y00ts st0re, because if they get their
own ⓨ registration, they will be able to collect % royalties on their work after the initial
sale.
Ok, but what if I’m not an artist? How does ⓨ make me money?
Imagine if MickeyDeGods, GuzzlerDAO, CoralBearDAO creators were compensated for
the actual value they have brought to the entire collection & their specific traits.
-
The real power behind ⓨ is that it can supercharge the creation of “clubs” within
communities.
Someone that wants to start a sub-community can use the y00ts st0re to find an artist &
commission a custom set of traits with their logo/emblem and register the club with ⓨ.
Now, any active community member can start their own club based on shared interests,
memes, or anything else.
The key is that since they own the ⓨ on the entire set of traits, they can monetize this
sub-community.
They can collect a % of royalties on every y00t that sells with any of their traits.
They can also charge an upfront cost in $SOL or $DUST for the actual traits
themselves.
In Conclusion
This is a pretty rough approximation of how we believe this system can work. Open to
criticism and seeing how this plays out.
