Philippine bookshop sells book chapters as NFTs听
By Patricia Mirasol听
BookShelf听PH, an online bookshop and publisher, has started selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of book chapters, starting with its recent publication,听The E-Hustle: What the Country鈥檚 Best Digital Leaders Can Teach You About Launching and Growing Your Online Business.听The Philippine-based bookshop hopes the new model听— dubbed a public domain as a service (PDaaS) —听will听be a sustainable way for Filipinos to access a book鈥檚 content even before its copyright expiration.听
When a book鈥檚听copyright听expires,听they听no longer have听exclusive intellectual property rights protections听— they have听entered听the public domain.听Some Filipino works in the public domain听are听Jose Rizal鈥檚听贰濒听贵颈濒颈产耻蝉迟别谤颈蝉尘辞听补苍诲听Noli Me听T谩ngere.听Since听copyright expiration in the Philippines听continues from听the date of the author鈥檚 death, plus听50听years, more recent books are not听copyright free.听听听
NFTs, as defined by finance website Investopedia, are virtual assets on听a听blockchain with unique identification codes. Because of their unique identification, they can鈥檛 be used as a medium for commercial transactions, although they can be used to represent physical assets such as real estate or听an听artwork. Because they are based on blockchains (which are digital, decentralized, unalterable ledgers that can record transactions involving value, like money or property), deals are simplified and risks are reduced.听听
NFT OWNERSHIP
鈥淭he chapter-bought NFTs will be created into a new public domain version of the book. [It will] be posted on Bookshelf PH and other channels for all to access and download, anytime and anywhere. The release also allows anyone to reproduce the content,鈥 said Ada A. Ortega, co-founder of Bookshelf PH, in an e-mail to听大象传媒.听听
Ownership of NFT assets varies. In听BookShelf听PH鈥檚 case, when individuals buy NFTs associated with particular chapters of听The听E-Hustle, the bookshop will release the chapters to the public domain and forfeit its copyright as publisher.听听
鈥淭he contents of听The听E-Hustle听are produced by Bookshelf PH which means that we have the right to make it public domain,鈥 explained听Ms. Ortega. 鈥淭he buyer of the NFTs, on the other hand, only has ownership of the NFT artwork with the additional utility of being named the presenting sponsor of the respective chapter once it is released into public domain.鈥澨听
PURCHASE VALUE
The NFTs will be auctioned on听OpenSea, a global marketplace for NFTs. Individuals interested听in听purchasing听the NFTs first need to create a crypto wallet that听OpenSea听accepts, such as听MetaMask, and then purchase Ethereum (ETH), the cryptocurrency听OpenSea听accepts for NFT purchases. The cryptocurrency can be bought through either听MetaMask听or crypto exchanges such as听Moneybees.听听
One NFT of听The听E-Hustle听costs 0.114 ETH, or about $500. Each comes with digital art听— a holographic adaptation of the original chapter cover, belonging exclusively to the buyer.听听
鈥淭he value for the NFT owner is that they get to be associated as a supporter of e-commerce and entrepreneurship in the Philippines,鈥 Ms. Ortega told听大象传媒. 鈥淭he value for readers is that they get a free resource about e-commerce, [thus] reducing the barrier to entry when it comes to starting or growing an online business.鈥澨
Bookshelf PH also has a marketing campaign, called E-Commerce for Everyone, that aims to get the public domain version of听The听E-Hustle听into听the hands of one million Filipinos. The year-long campaign starts this November, with all marketing collaterals recognizing buyers of the book鈥檚 NFTs as e-commerce enablers.
