Onboard Japanese Big IP holders onto Cardano space and Build an IP Certification system on the Cardano blockchain

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

Additional applicants

Chris Dai (Recika)

Yujin Katsuta (Recika)

Jun Zhang (IP Forward)

Liu Yi (Recika)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.” .

No dependencies.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

Not Open Source, The part that’s unique to JPNFT’s internal operations, for security reasons, will not be Open Source. Other platforms that connect to JPNFT’s verification system will be Open Source.

[METADATA] Category of proposal

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

日本語はこちら：https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xr_m89IkQpiwyTxkEdcKJzJLlcK7tHAYXEZLMZXNHPw/edit?usp=sharing

Our proposed solution is to Create a platform for major Japanese IP holders to participate in Cardano by making the IP authentication platform on Ethereum.

The problem:

Currently, the NFT market is rife with the unauthorized use of IPs, making Japanese IP owners hesitant to create their own NFT art. Additionally, it is difficult for users to distinguish between legitimate and pirated NFT content. This is because there are currently no effective methods to combat pirated content, even if it is discovered by the IP owner.

The lack of major project participation also contributes to Cardano's lack of NFT visibility, which in turn prevents more developers from getting involved in Cardano.

Our Approach:

To build " jpnft", an authentication platform for IPs currently being serviced on Ethereum and used by many major Japanese IP holders, compatible with Cardano, and to encourage major IP holders to participate in projects in the NFT space of Cardano, thereby revitalizing the Cardano NFT space and motivating developer participation in development on Cardano.

Display of JPNFT certification mark on JPG Store

JPG Store displays the JPNFT certification mark for IPs that have been certified by JPNFT.

This makes it easy to see the certification of IPs that are officially certified in Cardano's largest NFT marketplace.

Officially licensed NFT collections from major Japanese IP owners can provide a gateway for these intellectual property (IP) owners to enter Cardano chain. Specifically, these IP owners can enter Web3 through a Cardano-based NFT marketplace, with jpg.store being at the forefront.

Engagement:

This project aims to migrate the system already developed by jpnft to Cardano in order to enable major Japanese publishers, game companies, and other IP holders, who are IP Forward's main customers, to use the Cardano blockchain.

○What is jpnft

• jpnft's onsite IP owner account registration and IP authentication/registration service that matches IP owners/licenses with NFT creators and can onboard major Japanese IPs to NFT marketplaces like jpg.store.

• jpnft was developed under the auspices of the J-LOD (Subsidy for the Promotion of Contents Overseas Development and Infrastructure Enhancement Project) funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and is operated by jpnft Inc which was built by two companies"IP Forward” and "Recika" as part of the "Research Project for the Promotion of Authorized Version Content Distribution in the NFT Marketplace," a project commissioned by METI.

○About IP Forward (https://www.ip-fw.com/):

• IP FORWARD (IPF) Group is a comprehensive consulting group consisting of specialized consulting firms, law firms, and patent attorneys with offices in Japan, China, and Vietnam.
• They have been providing a wide range of services for 10 years, including registration, protection, and exploitation of intellectual property rights worldwide, as well as business consulting in China and Southeast Asia, and have supported many Japanese companies in various industries.
• So they have strong connections with big Japanese enterprise companies, including major publishers/anime companies and music labels.

○About Recika (https://recika.jp/):

Recika is a web3 company in Japan and provide blockchain development consulting for business use such as live-streaming/content sales service"Livesola" and Whisky cask ownership management/transaction service "UniCask".

Uniqueness:

Marketplaces that agree to bear the jpnft certification mark may work with jpnft to sale their marketplace onboarding to IP holders which has relationship with them.

We will encourage major companies to adopt Cardano's technology by conducting educational sessions on Cardano's NFT advantages and how to gain access to the technology at individual sales and joint exhibiting events.

This gives the major IP holders in Japan and the developers around them a direct opportunity to learn about Cardano and also to become interested in the Cardano technology.

Importance to Cardano: 

Obtaining Cardano adoption by a major IP holder will help to make Cardano known to the various people who know about that IP and gain credibility for Cardano.

This would be a major step towards increasing the number of Cardano adoptions.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

Our solution is to integrate jpnft, which is used by many major Japanese IP holders, into Cardano to facilitate the onboarding of major IP holders into the Cardano NFT space.

This will fulfill several of the aims of the challenge.

Alignment with Challenge Aims:

・Increasing Cardano Devs:

As is clear from the example of Ethereum, with the development of NFT, many web3 developers were born, and has successfully secured the number of developers to the extent that each project has an individual developer affiliated with it.

In particular, when a large IP-related project enters the market, it is often assumed that the project will eventually develop Dapps, including blockchain games, etc., and that the developer will have the opportunity to work as an individual and belong to a large company. If major IP comes to our ecosystem will lead to a strong desire to gain knowledge of the Cardano blockchain issuing NFTs.

・ Knowledge base & Documentation:

In our sales activities with jpnft, we communicate Cardano's technical, community and other benefits to major IP holders and related developers at various events and business meetings.

As part of this process, we will prepare materials that communicate technical specifications and Cardano's benefits.

・Support structures：

We will create a support structure with both JPG Store and jpnft so that Japanese IP holders whose native language is not English can easily participate in the CNFT ecosystem.

・Collaborative Structures:

jpnft, which has already launched its services on Ethereum, has strong connections with NFT/BCG projects that are also building on Ethereum.

By making these projects cross-chain project onto Cardano, we will promote more widespread use of Cardano.

Impact on Cardano Ecosystem:

・Ecosystem Growth:

The project could bring more users to the Cardano ecosystem, as businesses and consumers recognize the advantages of NFT-based coupons/gift cards. This could translate into an increase in the number of transactions being processed on the Cardano network, contributing to the overall growth and development of the ecosystem.

・Strengthening the Ecosystem:

By providing an innovative and practical use-case for NFTs and blockchain, the project could help strengthen the Cardano ecosystem. It will also increase the versatility of the Cardano blockchain, demonstrating its ability to support a range of applications beyond just financial transactions.

・Solving a Key Problem:

The project will address the common issues associated with traditional gift card programs such as fraud and high cost. By leveraging the security and transparency of blockchain, the project could provide a more secure, cheaper, and efficient solution.

Project Metrics:

 • Number of developers actively building on top of Cardano

The entry of a large IP increases Cardano's visibility to the public and IP-related development increases the number of active developers in Cardano.

 • A strong community of developers and proposers with thriving project collaboration.

Beyond this proposal, we will work with existing Catalyst projects and others to provide a more efficient and attractive development environment for large IP holders as they develop Cardano.

As an example, we use the Socious platform funded by Catalyst Funt9 (https://socious.io/) to hire freelance Cardano developers.

In this way, we will also seek to collaborate on projects and large IPs that come out of the various Catalysts.

Overall, the proposed solution has the potential to bring significant value to the Cardano ecosystem. Regarding the migration of jpnft to Cardano, although some of the elements are not open source because of security issues, we believe that, as a whole, it will fulfill the goals of this Challenge.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

We have identified the quantitative KPI to measure the proposal’s success:

○Number of IPs registered on the Cardano chain

It means that IP holders realize CNFT and CNFT Marketplace and think that it is important to authenticate their IP on Cardano.

jpnft has registered 17 IPs registered on Ethereum already, so it is not difficult to achieve, we think.

○The number of listings from authenticated NFT collections

It means that IP holders mint NFT collections and build projects on Cardano Blockchain.

It is huge for our ecosystem and through it we can promote Cardano ecosystem for people around the world.

○The number of the session for explaining about the benefits of Cardano NFTs to Big IP holders

JPG Store will have a monthly session for spreading CNFTs in Japan with Web3 /Developers community. Also collaborate with jpnft, we make sessions/consultations to onboard their team to our space for individual Big IP holders related to jpnft.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

○Mechanisms for IP certification Demo Video / on jpnft HP

The IP certification process will be shared on YouTube (In Japanese and English) for everyone in the community to see.

This will help announce the project's completion to announce the completion of the project, inform IP holders of its contents, and provide materials for onboarding.

○JPG Store's jpnft certification mark for certified IPs

The JPG Store actually grants the jpnft certification mark to projects with certified IP.

It will also be possible to search for projects with the jpnft certification mark.

→This allows everyone to know how many projects have a jpnft mechanism

○Introduction of Cardano's Developer / Plutus Pioneer Program etc., to projects with jpnft marks launched in Cardano

List projects needing Cardano developers/developers interested in learning about Cardano development techniques and share them with the Cardano developer community, the Plutus Pioneer program, etc.

By summarizing the use cases such as BCG and other Dapps building that will be brought by the major jpnft-owned IP holders that this initiative will create, we will use this information for future development, securing developers, and sales.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

As for jpnft, it is a service that has already been launched on Ethrerum, with partnerships with large Japanese projects and NFT exchanges as well.

See below to see what IP holders are already using JPNFT.

As we mentioned, jpnft was developed under the auspices of the J-LOD (Subsidy for the Promotion of Contents Overseas Development and Infrastructure Enhancement Project) funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and is operated by jpnft Inc which was built by two companies"IP Forward” and "Recika" as part of the "Research Project for the Promotion of Authorized Version Content Distribution in the NFT Marketplace," a project commissioned by METI.

Recika, which built the technology for the web3 side of jpnft, has worked with jpnft and other public companies such as UniCask (https://unicask.jp/en/) to create solutions for the social use of NFT.

And also IP Forward, which built the business development side of jpnft has been treating a lot of huge IPs in Japan.

And JPG Store is also the largest NFT marketplace in Cardano, with almost all CNFT projects listing their collections on the JPG Store.

In addition, we have a team of developers who are well-versed well versed in NFT in Cardano and can promote the implementation of JPNFT in Cardano without any difficulty.

The proposer (Yuri Kuriyama) has successfully obtained Catalyst funding for the past three terms, is friends with Cardano's worldwide community members of Cardano's worldwide community, and is a part of the JPG Store.

JPG Store is also strengthening its sales efforts to acquire Japanese content this quarter, and the Japanese marketing head, the originator, has already started onboarding large Japanese Web3 projects to JPG Store and the DigiDen support team.

JPNFT's connections to IP holders are expected to further promote the participation of Japanese IP content in Cardanoto further promote the participation of Japanese IP content in Cardano.

Thus, The team is very committedThe team is thus a very committed team, and the project is a great credit.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

1.Integrate jpnft on Cardano to allow official IP track

For jpnft, the authentication mechanism on Ethereum is based on SBT (Soulbound Talken).

Since SBT does not currently exist on Cardano, we will build an alternative authentication mechanism using Policy ID and a wallet authentication mechanism using Policy ID and wallet authentication as an alternative. Projects that have been verified with this authentication will be given the jpnft certification mark on the JPG Store.

2.1 will allow major Japanese IP holders to enter the Cardano NFT and revitalize the CNFT.

Actual target figures

○Number of IPs registered on the Cardano chain

We aim to get over 10 well-known IPs registered on Cardano.

○The number of listings from authenticated NFT collections

We aim to get over three projects regarding theregarding to the bear market of the NFT space.

3. Execute lectures on Cardano, sessions for developers, consulting, etc

Sales activities and, at the same time, inform the major Japanese IP holders and surrounding companies about the appeal of the Cardanocardano blockchain and the CNFT to increase their motivation to develop with Cardano.

This will increase awareness about Cardano among major IP holders and the engineers and technology companies around them and actually increase the number of Developers and developments.

(The goal is to get about 3 actual development projects in a year.)

The participation of major IP holders in CNFT may also expand and have the effect of expanding public awareness of CNFT /Cardano at an accelerated pace.

○Actual target figures

More than 25sessions / 3 actual3actual development projects in 12 months

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

We have six milestones, including the final milestone, and we plan to complete the entire project within 12 months from the start.

For a summary of the milestones, please visit:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hio0u5JjfRXDHGr77zc_QWlOvEz97uS26S08pYIP7P4/edit?usp=sharing

Milestone 1

Title: Technical Research and Prepare for Marketing

Outputs

Milestone 1 includes the following key activities:

• Conduct a literature review of the issue.
• Research on IPs/companies associated with jpnft, Inc.
• Conduct research on technical aspects of the project.
• Conduct interviews with stakeholders and analyze them. (recording dates and timestamps)
• Draft a technical research paper and marketing paper summarizing the findings above.

Acceptance criteria

The market and technical research paper is finalized and published on Google Documents and shared to the Catalyst challenge reviewers.

Evidence of Milestone Completion

Reviewers can access the market and technical research paper to find the following content:

• Literature review
• Research for marketing / Sales
• Interviews with stakeholders and their analysis (including dates and timestamps)
• Technical aspects of the project
• Detailed action plans for the project

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 2

Cost

52,500ADA ($ 14,700)

% Completion

18%

Milestone 2

Title: Backend & Blockchain Development

Outputs

Milestone 2 includes the following key activities:

• Based on research paper, brainstorm and Ideate
• Backend development
• Blockchain development
• Demo Video

Acceptance criteria

The Catalyst Challenge reviewers can access the explanation Demo video and the source code on GitHub.

Evidence of Milestone Completion

The reviewers can access the explanation Demo video and the source code on GitHub.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 4

Cost

83,929 ADA ($23,500)

% Completion

47%

Milestone 3

Title: Backend & Blockchain Testing and Bug Fix Total /Sales

Outputs

Milestone 3 includes the following key activities:

• Unit testing
• Manual testing
• Bug fixes
• Documentation

Acceptance criteria

The reviewers can access the explanation Video on Youtube and the source code on GitHub.

The reviewers can access the photos and the list of Sales.

Community Members can access the report of public sessions on Google spread sheet.

Evidence of Milestone Completion

The reviewers can access the explanation Video on Youtube and the source code on GitHub.

The reviewers can access the photos and the list of Sales.

Community Members can access the report of public sessions.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 5

Cost

45,000 ADA ($12,600)

% Completion

62%

Milestone 4

Title: UI/UX Design , Frontend Development /Sales

Outputs

Milestone 4 involves the following key activities:

• Brainstorm and Ideate for Design (on JPG Store)
• Finalize the UI/UX design (on JPG Store)
• Complete the design
• Frontend Development ( Put the certification mark / Links etc.)
• Film a video walk-through
• Sales / Holding sessions (Photos and Recording dates and timestamps)

Acceptance criteria

IP holders apply “jpnft” certification system on Cardano from jpnft applying format (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHCk2wceGjtG8DVIBxyfz0a5W70X8gRBZJNxz_WibCgt8k8A/viewform):

Once they are certificated as the right owner of the IP, they can record their certification on Cardano Blockchain.

1. Their IP can be tracked via Cardano Scan
2. The project and contents that run by the certificated IP holders can be put jpnft mark on JPG Store, and the link for tracking their certification

We will film a walk-through of these functions and publish the video on Youtube so that community members can access.

The reviewers can access the photos and the list of sales.

Community Members can access the report of public sessions on Google Spread-sheet.

Evidence of Milestone completion

The community members can review the Design on Google spread-sheet / And can check the walkthrough Video on Youtube Channel.

The reviewers can access the photos and the list of sales.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 6

Cost

29,286 ADA ($7,000)

% Completion

72%

Final Milestone

Title: Final Milestone

Outputs

The final Milestone involves the following key activities:

• Sales / Holding Sessions
• Support for IP holders / onboarded projects
• Bug fixes
• Film a Closing video
• Draft a project close-out report

These steps will produce two deliverables: a close-out report and a close-out video

Acceptance criteria

The following items are publicly available for the community to review.

• Project close-out report
• Project close-out video

Evidence of Milestone Completion

Community members can access and review the project close-out report. The project close-out video is published on Youtube for the community to review.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 12

Cost

80,536 ADA ($22,550)

% Completion

100%

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Milestone 1

Title: Title: Technical Research and Prepare for Marketing

Outputs and Deliverables

Milestone 1 includes the following outputs:

• Conduct a literature review of the issue.
• Research on IPs/companies associated with jpnft, Inc.
• Conduct research on technical aspects of the project.
• Conduct interviews with stakeholders and analyze them. (recording dates and timestamps)
• Draft a technical research paper and marketing paper summarizing the findings above.

At the end of these outputs, we deliver a technical and market research paper summarizing the findings above

Intended outcomes

The market and technical research paper is finalized, published on Google Docs, and shared with POM reviewers.

How we measure the project’s progress

Project progress information will be reported at the bi-weekly Eastern Town Hall, which the project team attends almost every meeting. Information that does not conflict with confidentiality or product security is also shared with the community at Town Hall.

Milestone 2

Title: Backend & Blockchain Development

Outputs and deliverables

Milestone 2 includes the following key activities:

• Based on the research paper, brainstorm and Ideate
• Backend development
• Blockchain development
• Recording Demo Video

Outputs and deliverables

Milestone 2 includes the following key activities:

• Based on the research paper, brainstorm and Ideate
• Backend development
• Blockchain development
• Recording Demo Video

Intended outcomes

The POM reviewers can access the explanation Demo video and the source code on GitHub.

How we measure the project’s progress

Project progress information will be reported at the bi-weekly Eastern Town Hall, which the project team attends almost every meeting. Information that does not conflict with confidentiality or product security is also shared with the community at Town Hall.

Milestone 3

Title: Backend & Blockchain Testing and Bug Fix Total /Sales

Outputs and deliverables

Milestone 3 includes the following key activities:

• Unit testing
• Manual testing
• Bug fixes
• Documentation
• Sales / Holding Sessions (Photos and Recording dates and timestamps)

Intended outcomes

• The POM reviewers can access the explanation the source code on GitHub.
• The reviewers can access the photos and the list of Sales.
• Community Members can access the report of public sessions.

How we measure the project’s progress

Project progress information will be reported at the bi-weekly Eastern Town Hall, which the project team attends almost every meeting. Information that does not conflict with confidentiality or product security is also shared with the community at Town Hall.

Milestone 4

Title: UI/UX Design , Frontend Development /Sales

Outputs and deliverables

Milestone 4 involves the following key activities:

• Brainstorm and Ideate for Design (on JPG Store)
• Finalize the UI/UX design (on JPG Store)
• Complete the design
• Frontend Development ( Put the certification mark / Links etc.)
• Film a video walk-through
• Sales / Holding sessions (Photos and Recording dates and timestamps)

Intended outcomes

IP holders apply “jpnft” certification system on Cardano from jpnft applying format (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHCk2wceGjtG8DVIBxyfz0a5W70X8gRBZJNxz_WibCgt8k8A/viewform):

Once they are certificated the right owner of the IP, they can record their certification on Cardano Blockchain.

1. Their IP can be tracked via Cardano Scan
2. The project and contents that are run by the certificated IP holders can be put jpnft mark on JPG Store, and the link for tracking their certification

We will film a walk-through of these functions and publish the video on Youtube so that community members can access.

The POM reviewers can access the photos and the list of sales.

Community Members can access the report of public sessions on Google spread sheet.

How we measure the project’s progress

Community members can access the walk-through Video on YouTube.

Project progress information will be reported at the bi-weekly Eastern Town Hall, which the project team attends almost every meeting. Information that does not conflict with confidentiality or product security is also shared with the community at Town Hall.

Final Milestone

Title:Final Milestone

Outputs and deliverables

Final Milestone involves the following key activities:

• Sales / Holding Sessions
• Support for IP holders / onborded projects
• Bug fixes
• Film a Closing video
• Draft a project close-out report

How we measure the project’s progress

The following items are publicly available for the community to review.

• Project close-out report
• Project close-out video

How we measure the project’s progress

Project progress information will be reported at the bi-weekly Eastern Town Hall, which the project team attends almost every meeting. Information that does not conflict with confidentiality or product security is also shared with the community at Town Hall.

Community members can access and review the project close-out report. The project close-out video is published on Youtube for the community to review.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Please find below a detailed breakdown of our budget, including the number of people and hours allocated to each task. We have calculated the cost at $40 per person per hour. The base conversion rate for USD-ADA is 0.28.*

Executive summary:

Total Cost: 291,290 ADA ($80,350)

Milestone 1: 52,500 ADA ($14,700)

Milestone 2: 83,929 ADA ($23,500)

Milestone 3: 45,000 ADA ($12,600)

Milestone 4: 29,286 ADA ($7,000)

Milestone 5: 80,536 ADA ($22,550)

Final Milestone: 51,143 ADA ($14,320)

Please find the details of the breakdown here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hio0u5JjfRXDHGr77zc_QWlOvEz97uS26S08pYIP7P4/edit?usp=sharing

*We've adopted the USD-ADA conversion rate of $0.28 which is the rate at the time of the proposal submission deadline.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The proposed project holds immense potential to further the Cardano ecosystem, and while there are significant costs involved, they are justified in their allocation and as such, represent excellent value for money.

To start, the impact of our jpnft and JPG Store initiatives are already apparent. The major three publishers (Shogakukan, Shueisha, Kodansha) in Japan, to protect their contents IP, contract with IP Forward, the company that created jpnft. In addition to that, JPG Store has almost 100% of Cardano's NFT market share and more than 60,000 followers. For Japanese companies wishing to promote their content abroad, JPG Store is a marketplace well worth choosing. The collaboration between the two companies will allow for the onboarding of Major IPs into Cardano's ecosystem to help expand the user base and, consequently, the value of the Cardano network, providing a high return on investment.

Addressing the labor costs, we have optimized our budget based on industry standards and geographical considerations. According to ZipRecruiter data, the average salaries for product designers, developers, and product managers are $72, $68, and $65 per hour, respectively. However, we have managed to budget the hourly salaries at a more cost-effective rate of $50, using our inner developers and also collaborating with Socious technology.

For a comprehensive breakdown of the project costs, please refer to the following document:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hio0u5JjfRXDHGr77zc_QWlOvEz97uS26S08pYIP7P4/edit?usp=sharing

In conclusion, the amount of money spent on this project is an efficient investment to expand the Cardano ecosystem to its fullest extent and to increase the number of Developers.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.