Last October, Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys revealed a full lyric video for his then newest song, “Scary Monster” which featured an upcoming collection of ultra-rare Zombie NFTs by a company known as Zombie Inu (ZINU).
Coincidentally, the name of the track also coincides with the name of one of ZINU’s founders and chief brand officers, who recently introduced a new form of decentralized intellectual property to Zinu’s already 40,000+ community of members, known across Twitter as the #ZombieMob.
ZINU is the industry’s first fully animated 3D NFT that can “walk, strut, run, flip, dance, and fly;” something that hasn’t been seen yet in the current Web3 and entertainment landscape – until now.
The NFT collection, known as ‘Zombie Mob Secret Society’, which features 10,000 unique 3D full-motion zombified ZINU character combinations, also positions the company in a much different light than most projects currently on the market right now for one major reason – it’s mission on providing the entertainment industry with the first true form of decentralized intellectual property, in the form of a ‘royalty-free license’ NFT.
One of the many ongoing discussions right now in the Web3 space as it relates to NFTs is the question of “ownership” and what it means for an individual when they purchase an NFT. In most cases, most individuals do not acquire the underlying IP rights to the work when purchasing their NFT, but instead acquire the right to publicly display their NFT.
Under federal copyright law, authors of original works are afforded six exclusive rights that govern what a copyright holder can and cannot do with that work:
- Right to reproduce the copyrighted work;
- Right to prepare derivative works based upon the work;
- Right to distribute copies of the work to the public;
- Right to publicly perform the copyrighted work;
- Right to publicly display the copyrighted work; and
- Right to digitally transmit to publicly perform the copyrighted work.
As it relates to the current music landscape, questions as to ownership and other copyright interests have been a source of major contention with artists including Taylor Swift and Big Machine Label Group, which have empowered both artists and executives to find new ways to monetize their music, while retaining the ownership of their work.
According to the press release, every ZMSS holder “will be granted a royalty-free license to their specific Zinu character, empowering them to use and commercialize their respective NFTs within their own industries.” In other words, imagine an artist who is able to incorporate their custom Zinu NFT into their music videos, live touring, and merchandise for fans to adopt and run around with.
“Whether they already own a small business or are just starting out, holders of ZMSS NFTs will be able to introduce their own Zinu to their customers and leverage the IP that the entire community is building,” the press release explains.
Looking to the the aesthetic design and appeal of Zinu himself, the company, whose team is comprised of senior team members who previously worked at Amazon, Google, Intel, and Microsoft – also has deep connections to leadership within the tech, media, and entertainment industries, and in this case, Marvel digital artist and toy sculptor Digger T. Mesch, who sits on ZINU’s strategic board of advisors.
Earlier this week, Tomo Moriwaki (Spider-Man, Medal of Honor) joined ZINU’s strategic board of advisors, who will lead the project’s entire gaming division – alongside celebrity relations mogul and 8Commas partner, Rembrandt Flores.
Earlier this month, ZINU made its public debut in Times Square ahead of its March 23 mint. For more information on ZINU, please visit its website.