Web3 intellectual property licensing startup Spaceport raises $3.6 million | Jobs Vox

Web3 startup Spaceport announced today that it has raised $3.6 million in pre-funding to build a blockchain-based protocol to simplify intellectual property licensing and make it easier for creators to receive royalties.

Aca, the venture fund for Web3 Decasonic, and Crit Ventures, the venture capital arm of game development company Com2uS, co-led the funding round. Other investors who also joined the round included Cozomo De Medici, Diaspora Ventures, Infiniti Ventures Cripto, FBG Capital, Nextview Ventures, Republic Asia and Valhalla Ventures.

Tech entrepreneurs Le Zhang and Lida Tang founded Spaceport to tackle the complicated and legal pen and paper industry of IP licensing to help creators, brands and agencies monetize their IP and gain better exposure using blockchain and Web3 technology.

Web3, otherwise known as the decentralized web, uses cryptographically secured transactions on blockchains to track and enforce peer-to-peer contracts between parties that can be used to provide a programmable way to exchange IP rights. Blockchains also create the basis for cryptocurrencies – with Bitcoin and Ethereum being prominent examples – that can be used for monetization.

“We built Spaceport to give creators and brands the ability to monetize their IP faster and easier than ever before,” said Le Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Spaceport.

A big part of the problem, according to Spaceport, is that small creators are being left out of the market because of the costs associated with managing intellectual property rights. Using Spaceport’s protocol and first application, Spaceport Core, monetizing IP will be greatly simplified as their catalogs will be turned into Web3 assets, according to the company. Then from there, creators can use smart contracts to close deals and receive royalties through the app.

“Spaceport unblocks a key challenge for creators to adopt Web3 by aligning value creation with their IP,” said Paul Hsu, founder and CEO of Decasonic. “Their licensing infrastructure is accessible, easy to use, and delivers great revenue.” Today, I see great potential for smart contracts to improve licensing and contract processes.”

Media licensing and royalty companies are exploring blockchain technology in an attempt to save costs and attract new audiences with the expectation that it could help alleviate decades-old pain points. Examples include Anote Music’s royalty investment platform, which allows artists and labels to license their music rights to investors and manage royalties to raise capital. Tech Mahindra has a blockchain-based contract and rights management system that uses IBM Corp.’s Hyperledger Fabric. for IP management.

Music streaming service Spotify even jumped on the bandwagon by acquiring Mediachain Labs in 2017, but only to keep track of attribution and licensing details.

Spaceport currently offers its protocol and application privately through a number of significant partnerships with media, gaming and consumer products companies.

The company said it intends to use the new funding to continue to hire talent, reach out to more partners with prominent IP portfolios that want broader exposure, and build the public launch of the company’s products.

Image: Spaceport