The creator economy is growing exponentially with estimates that the market is currently worth over $100B. But the barrier to entry into the creator economy for platforms, rightsholders, and creators alike is ever-evolving. For emerging user-generated content (UGC) platforms, the labor of building and sustaining a new service, while delivering reliable performance and building features that enhance user experience in an already saturated market, is quite the challenge. And that doesn’t take into account the liability involved with hosting content, which has the potential to obliterate a platform.
Today, Pex is announcing its Platform Guarantee, the first insurance-like solution for platforms of all sizes, covering up to $50M of copyright-related damages and legal fees under the European Union’s Copyright Directive (EUCD) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All platforms that participate in Pex’s Attribution Engine — the real-time marketplace that identifies, attributes, and licenses copyrighted content before it’s published — are covered under this policy at no additional charge.
Providing platforms with indemnity from copyright-related legal action through the Platform Guarantee encourages platforms to focus their efforts on growing their business, instead of dedicating resources to liability management. Platforms already face an uphill battle before adding the cost and repercussions of content licensing into the mix, which can prevent innovative technologies from reaching their full potential. Pex’s Platform Guarantee levels the playing field for all platforms to participate in the creator economy, while acting as a neutral marketplace between platforms, rightsholders, and creators to navigate and resolve issues pertaining to copyright.
Why it matters
Content licensing requires platforms to obtain different (and costly) licenses from various types of rightsholders without the option for blanket licensing agreements. To protect themselves from liabilities like copyright lawsuits, platforms need dedicated teams and ample resources at their disposal, which poses difficulties not only to the most well-funded startups but also already established platforms. The cost of content licensing and the ever-present risk of litigation are enough to prevent new platforms from ever materializing.
For platforms with resources, a common tactic to avoid copyright liability is to over-block content, which is a costly process that leaves all parties frustrated. Creators lose lucrative content, while platforms alienate the creators who are attracting users and the advertisers who boost their revenue. The industry needs alternative solutions for protection.
How it works
The Platform Guarantee works like insurance coverage for copyright infringement, ensuring that platforms are safe from copyright-related claims, allowing them to focus on building the core of their product and servicing their users. By utilizing Pex’s Attribution Engine, platforms meet the legal requirements of the EUCD and DMCA, indemnifying them from copyright claims presented under both of these laws.
Attribution Engine is the first real-time marketplace for copyrighted content. With its advanced identification technology, Attribution Engine allows platforms to manage and license content in real-time and at scale, enables rightsholders to take total control of their content, and empowers creators to upload freely while respecting copyright. Attribution Engine is the only end-to-end solution that provides identification, attribution, real-time licensing, reporting, payments, and dispute resolution in one place, regardless of user base or catalog size.
With Platform Guarantee, platforms are free to focus on growth to their top line while Pex protects their bottom line. No longer will platforms fear copyright disputes that threaten to shutter their business.
Pex is proud to bring balance to the growing creator economy and we look forward to seeing all participants thrive. For more information on Attribution Engine, head here. Interested in getting started? Contact us at [email protected].
