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In our latest Cantina TV episode, Hari Mulackal, our co-founder and CEO, had the privilege of sitting down with Story Protocol’s security team, Raul and Vinod, to explore how they're addressing one of the most pressing challenges in our digital landscape: protecting and monetizing intellectual property in an era where content can be effortlessly copied, remixed, and generated by AI.
What is Story Protocol?
Story Protocol is building a decentralized solution that allows creators to register their intellectual property on a blockchain, creating a transparent system for tracking ownership, derivatives, and monetization. As Raoul, the security leader at Story, succinctly put it: "We're working on Story to help creators benefit from their creation without limiting their possible growth."
In an age where AI can generate content in seconds and social media makes copying and distribution frictionless, traditional IP systems are struggling to keep pace. Story Protocol aims to bring IP management to "internet velocity" rather than the slow pace of conventional legal processes.
The Growing IP Crisis
The conversation highlighted two recent incidents that exemplify the current challenges creators face:
- Aston Howell's TikTok - A creator made a viral video about his morning routine that was subsequently copied and reposted across platforms. The virality benefited the copier rather than the original creator, who had no simple way to claim ownership or monetize his work.
- Studio Ghibli AI Images - AI-generated images in the style of Studio Ghibli have flooded social media, despite founder Hayao Miyazaki's well-known opposition to AI-generated content. This raises questions about style theft and the rights of creators to control how their aesthetic is used.
These examples illustrate why we need better systems for creators to establish, track, and monetize their intellectual property in a digital world.
How Story Protocol Works
The team described Story's approach as registering intellectual property as a "graph" — a connected network of original works and their derivatives. This system offers several key benefits:
- Proof of Originality - Creators can establish a verifiable timestamp of when they first registered their work
- Derivative Tracking - All remixes and derivatives can be visualized in relation to the original work
- Flexible Terms - Creators can set terms for non-commercial vs. commercial use
- Royalty Distribution - Automatic royalty payments can flow back to original creators when their work is used commercially
- Dispute Resolution - A built-in system for tagging and resolving infringement claims
For creators wanting to register their IP today, Story offers an IP portal (portal.story.foundation) that guides users through the process, similar to how developers might use GitHub to manage code with open licenses.
The Technical Foundation
Story Protocol began as a smart contract system but evolved into a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain to meet the specific needs of managing intellectual property at scale. Their technical stack combines:
- A consensus client based on Cosmos
- An execution client based on Geth
- Smart contract protocols interacting with an IP graph pre-compiled
This architecture allows them to create a secure and efficient system tailored specifically for intellectual property management.
Security as a Top Priority
One of the most insightful portions of our conversation focused on Story's approach to security - a critical concern for any blockchain project, especially one handling valuable intellectual property.
Their security strategy is comprehensive:
- Extensive external audits and code reviews
- A recently concluded $1 million competition on Cantina to find vulnerabilities
- An ongoing bug bounty program to incentivize white hat hackers
- Active monitoring for smart contracts on the chain
- Robust operational security practices
Vinod, who joined Story as a security engineer after a decade in Web2 security, shared their approach to team security: "People are the weakest link... We don't do automated trainings for people. We actually do one-on-one training to make them aware of all the threats."
This personalized approach to security education creates an environment where team members feel comfortable asking questions and reporting suspicious activities — a stark contrast to the "shaming" culture that can exist in some security circles.
As Raoul colorfully put it: "The secret is paranoia." The team emphasized that in crypto, threats are constant and evolving. From fake investors to spoofed communications to physical security risks at conferences, they've built systems to protect against a wide range of attack vectors.
Story Protocol in the Age of AI
The conversation naturally turned to how AI is transforming intellectual property challenges. With generative AI making it easy to create content in any style or remove watermarks from stock images, we're at an inflection point where we need to redefine what intellectual property means.
Story Protocol is working on solutions to these emerging challenges:
- Partnerships with AI companies like Stability to address consent and compensation
- Systems for creators to specify whether their work can be used for AI training
- Frameworks for AI agents to register and trade IP with each other
- AI-assisted dispute resolution for copyright claims
As Raoul noted, without proper incentive alignment, creation itself could slow down: "At some point, AI models will have scanned the whole internet already. We still need to align incentives so creators can get compensation for their efforts."
Looking to the Future
While specific roadmap details remain under wraps, the team shared their excitement about several developments:
- Ecosystem partners like Aria successfully tokenizing blue-chip IP
- The concept of "IP5" - the financial-ization of intellectual property
- Creating frameworks for individual creators to build media franchises
- Empowering collaboration in creative communities
They also touched on the double-edged sword of AI personalization. While personalized content created specifically for individuals seems inevitable, it also raises concerns about influence and manipulation - perhaps we'll need "mental firewalls" to protect ourselves from AI-optimized propaganda.
Join the Story Protocol Security Effort
For security researchers interested in contributing to Story Protocol's security, their bug bounty program is now live on Cantina. The team emphasized they're looking for unique vulnerabilities, particularly those involving interactions between different systems in their ecosystem.
As Vinod noted: "We pay handsomely for amazing issues," encouraging meaningful security contributions rather than AI-generated theoretical vulnerabilities.
Final Thoughts
As our conversation concluded, Raoul emphasized the need to stay true to blockchain's original values: "Decentralization is very valid even today. Let's try to create a better system, not just a more efficient bad one."
In a world where content creation and distribution are being transformed by AI and social media, Story Protocol represents an ambitious attempt to ensure creators maintain control and receive compensation for their work while enabling new forms of collaboration and remixing.
By addressing these challenges, Story isn't just building another blockchain - they're helping shape the future of how we create, share, and monetize intellectual property in the digital age.
Secure your protocol today
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This article is based on a Cantina TV interview with the security team from Story Protocol. View the full conversation here.