Is Kodak’s ICO really necessary for the photography industry?

From wired.co.uk:

Kodak is infamous for its inability to get with the times. Once the dominant brand in photography – so much so that ‘Kodak moment’ is still part of our vernacular today – the firm was left behind in the 90s as digital photography took hold. In 2013 it emerged from a one-and-a-half year long bankruptcy battle, having sold off much of its business and patents to other companies.

But the Kodak name lives on and it is determined not to miss the digital hype bus again. Yesterday, the company announced its plans to become a blockchain business and launch its own cryptocurrency, the KODAKCoin. The news sent its share price spiking 119 per cent to $6.80 (£5.03), its highest since October 2017. (It's been on a steady trend downwards since a recent peak of $36.88 (£27.25) in January 2014).

The first part of Kodak’s pivot is to use blockchain technology to help photographers keep track of where their images are used, and to make sure they get paid when that happens. “For many in the tech industry, ‘blockchain’ and ‘cryptocurrency’ are hot buzzwords, but for photographers who’ve long struggled to assert control over their work and how it’s used, these buzzwords are the keys to solving what felt like an unsolvable problem,” said Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke in a press release.

Kodak is also launching its own cryptocurrency, KODAKCoin, which is intended as a way of paying photographers immediately when their images are licensed for use. The initial coin offering will open on January 31, 2018 and is available to investors in the US, UK, Canada and other ‘select countries’.