About CC0: Do you want to be a platform or a brand?

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The day before yesterday, Moonbirds announced that the project would be converted to CC0, which caused a lot of discussion. It just so happens that the author has also done some homework and thinking about CC0 during this period, and I just want to make a summary. Discussions and suggestions are welcome.

What is CC0

CC0 is the abbreviation of Creative Commons Zero copyright agreement. By adopting this agreement, the author declares to give up all copyrights on the creation, and the creation enters the public domain and becomes the common intellectual property of mankind.

In plain language, everyone can use CC0 creations, including commercial and secondary creations. Give a chestnut

1. BAYC (non-CC0 protocol): IP Rights are only open to the owner. Li Ning bought BAYC #4102, so Li Ning can put this monkey on posters and T-shirts (other monkeys that do not own it cannot)
2. mfers (CC0 protocol): Whether you hold mfers or not, you can freely use 10,000 mfers, including for personal use (printing T-shirts to wear), commercial use (printing T-shirts for sale), secondary creation… According to incomplete statistics, mfers has more than 50 derivatives.

(Li Ning bought BAYC #4102)

(mfers derivatives)

CC0 Project: The ceiling is high, but the operation is also more difficult

Based on CC0 capabilities, we can draw this conclusion:The ceiling is very high (platform business model), but the operation is also more difficult

The author tries to summarize the following 3 points with a picture:

1. Goal: The goal of regular NFT projects is to build a brand (Brand), refer to Nike and Disney; while the ultimate goal of the CC0 project is to become a platform with network effects (Platform), refer to Amazon and Alibaba
2. Differences in goals bring about differences in project structures and business models
   1. Project structure: The conventional NFT project is more like a brand company with a relatively simple structure; while the CC0 project is more like a platform, serving as infrastructure to incubate countless derivative projects. These derivative projects feed back the infrastructure and form a multi-stakeholder ecosystem. The DAO Token becomes the token of this ecosystem, increasing in value as the platform develops.
   2. Business model: Brand looks at Sales Revenue, while Platform also has GMV and Ads Revenue, with two more driving factors and greater influence.
3. User perspective: DAO Token can lower the threshold for user participation and allow users to enjoy the benefits of the entire platform; however, because there is no IP exclusivity, not every user likes CC0

Of course, CC0 project operation is also more difficult, and if it is not done well, it will have negative impacts.

1. The project structure is more complex and has more stakeholders (you can compare the organizational structure of brand companies and Alibaba), which is a great test of the operational capabilities of the project party and DAO. If it is not done well, it will easily cause internal strife and affect the project operation.
2. It is necessary to establish a positive cycle of “CC0 projects → derivatives → CC0 projects”, otherwise the cold start of derivatives may fail and the CC0 project will become weaker and weaker.

The author speculates that Moonbirds announced that the project will be converted to CC0 and established DAO to prepare for its evolution into a platform, raise the ceiling of the project, and find a path to differentiate from Yuga/BAYC.

Let’s expand on it from three aspects: project structure, business model and user rights.

Project structure

It can be seen that compared with conventional NFT projects, the CC0 project has added DAO and Token Economy in the process of evolving into a platform.

1. Why DAO is needed: This ecosystem needs an operator that can not only help incubate derivative projects, but also design mechanisms to allow derivative projects to feed back the original projects, and allow all users to participate to help spread the word. So there are three relevant stakeholders (original project, derivative project, corresponding users), and there are a large number of people. Currently, DAO is the best choice for this operator.
2. Why Token Economy is needed: As mentioned above, there are many stakeholders in DAO, and a mechanism is needed to coordinate the distribution of interests. ERC20 Token is the best choice.
3. The operational capabilities of DAO and how the Token Economy is designed are critical. Theoretically, the ceiling of the platform is higher, but because DAO and Token Economy currently do not have CC0 Best Practice, this aspect will be the biggest challenge.
   1. This is also what users are most worried about about Moonbirds. DAO is not Ready. But from the perspective of CEO KRO, CC0 may also be the best way to survive and grow in a bear market. go big or go home, who knows?

business model

Let’s break down the Business Model formula

It can be seen that compared with conventional projects, CC0

1. In addition to Sales Revenue, there are also GMV and Ads Revenue, with 2 more driving factors
2. Same as Sales Revenue
   1. Based on derivative projects (derivative) and tokens, it can bring greater volume and communication power, thereby driving secondary sales
   2. The life cycle of a single project (live periods) is limited, but a steady stream of derivatives can extend the life of the entire ecosystem.
   3. There is a vivid metaphor about CC0, just like paper citations. The more you are cited, the greater your influence and the more valuable you will be.
3. Added Ads Revenue: DAO is used to incubate and promote derivative projects (derivative), and can collect promotional advertising fees. And payment can be made in the form of ERC20 Token to strengthen the ecosystem Token value. This is also the core profitability of the platform model.

User rights

We use a table to compare the user rights of regular projects and CC0 projects.

can be seen

1. CC0 Project’s increased benefits
   1. DAO Token can lower the threshold for users to participate and allow users to enjoy the benefits of the entire platform
2. CC0 Project Increased Risks
   1. Each user owns the IP of CC0, and the owner does not have exclusive rights in this area. In other words, IP rights are diluted.
   2. Since there is no IP exclusivity, it may be used by some unpopular groups, which will have a negative impact on the entire project. Big V pranksy publicly stated that she did not want to see extremist groups use her NFT image

Other important questions Q&A

Q: Will the emergence of a large number of derivatives and the fact that everyone can use IP Rights affect the value of the CC0 project itself?

A: If something is popular all over the world, the top of the ecological chain must be authentic. Nike Air Jordan is a good example. There are so many fakes, but genuine products can still sell for high prices. In addition, because NFT (Non-Fungible Token) itself can be confirmed on the chain, NFT projects can inherently operate in both Token and IP dimensions. Compared with the traditional business world, which only has one IP dimension, it can have a more flexible operation method. This is also CC0 Advantages of NFTs.

Q: What kind of projects are suitable for CC0?

A: CC0 projects require strong copying and broadcasting capabilities, and strong culture and meme types are more suitable (refer to mfers)

Q: Non-CC0 projects can also use platforms to issue tokens, such as yuga labs

A: This is also the reason why yuga labs is top 1 in this industry. It is indeed amazing. Yuga Labs’ route is to build a brand matrix, and then use metaverse as a platform to raise its own ceiling, issue coins to acquire more new users, and at the same time build its own ecosystem. Every step is very accurate. So the answer to this question is that CC0 projects need DAO and Token by default, and other projects need to build additional platform capabilities to issue Tokens.

at last

You are welcome to invite the author to coffee (the cover picture is made by myself, and another skill I learned this year is latte art). If you want to discuss further, please follow twitter @starzqeth

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