Blockchain media startup Civil will launch in February, despite the fact their CVL token sale failed earlier this year, according to the company’s blog post published Dec. 19. Civil is a blockchain-based platform for journalism that focuses on building a new media ecosystem with its native CVL token, which will purportedly help participants attain financial sustainability and improve trust in journalism.
Source: Blockchain Journalism Project Civil to Launch in February Despite Token Sale Flop
The question of whether we should have gaming blockchains or not had been a topic of some debate recently. Opponents see them as unnecessary, that things work just fine as they are. Proponents see the use of gaming blockchains as a way of allowing buyers to own their assets immutably.
It hasn’t been a particularly jolly December for Fortnite developer Epic Games. The studio is being sued by multiple interested parties thanks to Fortnite‘s liberal use of dance in-game emotes, many of which have been based on popular moves created by members of the music, television, or film industries.
This September, cOAlition S, a group of 11 national funding agencies across Europe, launched a plan to take an aggressive approach to end the reign of subscription-based journals. This new initiative, dubbed Plan S, mandates that starting in 2020, academics receiving grants from participating agencies—which include funders in the UK, France, and the Netherlands—must make all scientific articles open access immediately upon publication.
Source: Plan S: The Ambitious Initiative to End the Reign of Paywalls
The number of streamers making money on Twitch nearly doubled this year, as the popularity of Fortnite and the platform’s broadening scope drew more and more viewers. Twitch has been seen as the most competitive mainstream threat to YouTube as it continues to grow — but it still hasn’t managed to pull top YouTube creators away from their main platform.
Source: Twitch is giving more creators money, but it couldn’t keep YouTube’s biggest names
TAT empowers investors to profit from the combined benefits of the newest open blockchain technology and the oldest man-made tangible asset in the world, art. Each TAT purchased represents fractional ownership of a collection of Post War & Contemporary Art managed by the experts at Fine Art Digital, which is stored in a Swiss bonded warehouse secured by the Swiss government.
Major gaming company Atari has entered into a license agreement with blockchain startup Animoca Brands to make blockchain versions of two popular mobile games. Atari — famous for being the developer of video games such as Tetris and Pac Man — says the rights agreement allows Animoca to produce and publish blockchain versions of Atari mobile games “RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch” and “Goon Squad” globally.
Source: Gaming Giant Atari to Launch ‘Blockchain Versions’ of Two Popular Games
A group of companies in the entertainment industry have formed the Blockchain Global Entertainment Alliance, a new non-profit aimed at promoting blockchain technology adoption for the entertainment industry and developing standards and best practices.
Source: New Alliance Formed to Steer Blockchain Adoption in the Entertainment Industry
The rules for Canada’s notice-and-notice regime will change following the passing of C-86, the Budget Implementation Act. Moving forward, rightsholders will not be allowed to send copyright infringement notices for ISPs to pass onto their customers, if they contain a direct or indirect offer to settle. The development effectively ends Rightscorp-style business models in Canada.
Source: Canada Prohibits Piracy Settlement Demands in ISP Copyright Notices – TorrentFreak
It’s the fall of 2020, and the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system contains a bold new feature: blockchain tokens that consumers can use to purchase news articles. Meanwhile, the company has worked behind the scenes with news outlets like Fortune and the New York Times to ensure they can accept the Apple tokens as a seamless form of payment.
Source: Waiting for Apple’s Blockchain to Help the News Industry