IRCAM Forum's 30th Anniversary

2024 is going to be a great and important year for one of DAFNE+ partners, IRCAM. This prestigious institution is celebrating it's 30th anniversary with an interesting variety of workshops and roundatbles showcasing the evolution of sound desing and music production along the last three decades.

During this event, celebrated from the 19th to the 22nd of March, experts and researchers will be explaining and showing how advancements have been incorporated to the industry but also what challenges faces nowadays.

As for DAFNE+ it has been an excellent opportunity to show the development of the project and the platform.

The programme of the Ateliers Forum 2024 has been very complete.


DAFNE+ 5th Plenary Meeting in Palermo

The historic and beautiful Sicilian city of Palermo was home for the last General Meeting of DAFNE+. An interesting venue where the partners exchanged impressions on the recent developments of the project.

One of the first subjects addressed was the inputs of the reviewers of the project. Interesting insights that will be introduced and implemented within the following months.

The next stage of the project will face several challenges but the partners feel fit for the task.

In this sense, we also had a very interesting discussion around DAOs and how to accomplish it for DAFNE+. Another big issue that was analysed was how to collect and measure our users feedback and through what channels. We also talked about the platform and our next events in our agenda, like the one we have scheduled in March with IRCAM.


Interview with Iago Fernández-Cedrón, Project Manager of DAFNE+

https://youtu.be/swROcJAaCXU

DAFNE+ is indeed an innovative project that seeks to help creatives understand and dive into new technologies such as blockchain, Web 3 and NFTs. With this main purpose, the project looks to make content distribution fair.

In this interview, DAFNE+ project manager, Iago Fernández-Cedrón, from UPM, helps us understand the main objectives of this European research project. As he explains carefully, DAFNE+ is thought "to help and foster the efforts to monetize and make new business models for the creators in these industries".

DAFNE+ "brings the possibility to cocreate the NFTS and distribute the tokens and the royalties in a fair and transparent way for those users that want to work with us", he adds. Also he talks about the possibilities that new decentralized models of organization can bring to the creative space. "We empower those communities with the DAO that we are building to allow them to decide on how these new business models work on their creations", he confirms.

Watch the whole interview to know more about DAFNE+ Project.


Interview with Hugues Vinet, IRCAM explaining Use Case 2

https://youtu.be/BCXENN4DAUc

IRCAM is a French institution founded un 1977 by French composer, pedagogue and orchestra conductor Pierre Boulez. Its purpose was the research and study of acoustic and music.

"Boulez had a vision that the future of contemporary music would go through science and technology", says Hugues Vinet, from IRCAM, in this interview. "He had this idea of puting together on one side scientists, engineers, and in the other side musicians that would work together to renuew the musical expression", he adds.

Nowadays they have a lab where they produce technology and research in this innovative field. But this is not only for internal purposes but also for external users. That is why they founded IRCAM Forum, that has already 60.000 users worldwide.

At this point, IRCAM's researchers wanted to go further and planned to use "NFT and blockchain technology, using software and creation tools", Vinet explains, and is one of the reasons they are part of DAFNE+ project. In this interview Hugues Vinet gets to explain some of the aspects of this collaboration.


DAFNE+ Platform presented during the Creative Jam

After the platform's launch last month, DAFNE+ project needs to be tested by their potential users. Artists, musicians, designers, and many other content creators are called to use and test the platform and give feedback.

All of those potential users that will be interested in the platforms proposal to ensure a fair content creation and distribution.

One of the opportunities to do so has come up this week in the event called Creative Jam, co-organised by School of Digital Arts (MMU) and IAAC. Both are DAFNE+ partners and have strong artistic communities that could find the platfom useful.

During the hybrid event the DAFNE+ Platform was exhibited and our technical partners from Engineering and Synelixis, gave a thorough introduction and onboarding session to the attendants.


Interview with Olga Trevisan, IAAC explaining Use Case 3

 

https://youtu.be/lDWjJB-TTm8

In this interview, Olga Trevisan, from IAAC, explains how they are working to develop DAFNE+ project. "We are collaboraing with the maker and design community researching viable tools and methods that can benefit our communities in the digital landscape", says.

In this sense, the Distributed Design Platform (coordinated by IAAC) will be engaged - a distributed creative community of 1600+ novel content creators across making, art and design. Based on the global Fab Lab Network of 35,000+ users, the platform is undertaking research and development into creative alternatives to industrial processes. "Another aspect that the platform is developing is to assist content creator on various copyright agreements", she adds, in order to explain how this can be useful to artists and designers.

Artists and designers can take advantage of the tools provided on the DAFNE+ platform to create, distribute and buy original artistic content that can be used for emerging technologies, such as VR/AR applications and games.


KU Leuven highlighting the legal aspects and opportunities arising from DAFNE+

KU Leuven's (KUL) Centre for IT & IP Law (CiTiP) is an academic research centre at the KUL Faculty of Law and Criminology, specialising in the legal and ethical aspects of IT innovation and intellectual property. The centre's research aims at fundamentally rethinking the current legal framework in light of rapid technological change by adopting an intra- and extra-juridical interdisciplinary approach encompassing legal, technical, economic, ethical, and socio-cultural perspectives. Its international reputation has established CiTiP as a law and ethics partner on large international and interdisciplinary research projects covering the areas of Artificial Intelligence & Autonomous systems, Data Protection & Privacy, eHealth & Pharma, Ethics & Law, Intellectual Property, Media & Telecommunications and (Cyber)security.

Given its established expertise in Intellectual Property, within the DAFNE+ project, KU Leuven CiTiP is leading Work Package 6. Dr. Thomas Margoni is the project P.I with Leander Samuel Stähler and Francesca Portante d’Alessandro as researchers. By bringing its in-depth legal knowledge to the table, the centre is responsible for the drafting of deliverable 6.1, which will provide relevant legal research and analysis of the IPR and data privacy implications of the DAFNE+ platform and its use of blockchain technology. This contribution is essential in understanding the problems and opportunities of implementing the DAFNE+ platform.

The research will first map relevant applicable legal frameworks, focusing on copyright and related rights due to their direct relevance to the project's use cases. Exclusive rights licensing through non-fungible tokens will then be assessed, utilising an empirical study of NFT sale platforms' user rights terms of service to highlight current system flaws and develop a proposal on modular licensing for the online sale of digital assets. The proposed model will consist of a flexible licensing scheme of economic, commercial, and creative rights that will benefit both buyer and seller while empowering creators. Finally, the research will investigate the distinct copyright concerns of each of the project's three use cases, proposing how the asset can be licensed to respect rights holders' interests yet grant user rights to the acquirer. Alongside highlighting the problems and opportunities arising from the project platform and three use cases, the centre also aims to produce independent research material that may help further develop the project.

Within the above tasks, KU Leuven CiTiP actively collaborates with the FabCity Foundation on achieving the goals set by Work Package 6 and the dissemination strategy of Work Package 7. Regular meetings through communication channels ensure the smooth functioning of such partnerships.

In summary, KU Leuven CiTiP’s expertise and experience in the legal field contribute to the projects' implementation and overall success.


DAFNE+ Platform is live!

 A historic moment in the digital art and design landscape is happening with the official launch of DAFNE+ Platform, a cutting-edge NFT platform crafted to push forward the community of artists, designers, and musicians.

DAFNE+ Platform is designed to address the evolving needs of digital content creators, providing them with innovative tools for creation, distribution, and monetization of their artistic works through blockchain technology. “One of the main purposes of the project is to make content distribution fair”, explains Iago Fernández-Cedrón, Project Manager of DAFNE+ and Investigator at UPM. 

In this sense the creator will be able to find tools like Style Transfer, 3D Object Reconstruction, 3D Human Pose Estimation, and Virtual Avatar Personalization to unleash its creativity. This platform is set to redefine the way artists bring their imaginations to life in the digital space.

But, DAFNE+ Platform is more than just a compendium of innovative tools; it looks to create a vibrant community where artists, designers, and musicians converge to share, collaborate, and inspire. With a user-friendly interface and robust features, the platform is designed to foster creativity and innovation but also to promote a fairer content distribution. 


Interview with Tobey Dubois-Heys, from SODA, about Use Case 1

https://youtu.be/aZa3EA6OMrg

The DAFNE+ platform has several use case scenarios that demonstrate the potential of the platform to empower users and communities in the cultural heritage sector.

In this first set of interviews, Tobey Dubois-Heys, from the School of Digital Arts (SODA), from Manchester Metropolitan University, explains what is Use Case 1 is about. The first thing that he points out is the target audience. DAFNE+ project Use Case 1 "reachs out to prosumers, students, staff and all other industry partners". In this sense, Dubois-Heys says that DAFNE+ is really interesting for SODA because "it acts as a boundary breaking research project allows staff and students and industry partners to work together on NFT culture".

This use case is, as Dubois-Heys confirms, "a really good way of getting out into a community of makers and cultural producers who are absolutely involved in digital arts and digital creative projects".

In the other hand, for him DAFNE+ highlights "interesting questions that are happening for all creators right now in terms of IP, ownership, trustworthiness and remuneration and how all this things are changing because of the speed of change within digital technologies".


Supporting the journey from student to professional through the blockchain

Manchester Metropolitan University will focus on the challenges faced by new creative producers entering the digital and creative industries. Two Creative Jam events will test and discuss the DAFNE+ tools and concepts and empower development of a sustainable student-first community for existing learners and graduates.

For creative arts students finding their way in the digital and creative industries, it can be difficult to find your first steps in your career without support. One of the measures that can help is to join and take part in a creative network that provides opportunities to share your work, gain recognition and be part of community projects that can form part of a future portfolio. Through the DAFNE+ project, Manchester Metropolitan University aims to address the crucial question of how blockchain technology can be leveraged to facilitate a supportive and sustainable student-first creative community.

Building a supportive community

Manchester Metropolitan University researchers on the project will build out a creative student community called Shareloom creating a safe space where students and partners can interact, share, buy and sell work and creative services. DAFNE+’s new digital tools and NFT features will be studied by and integrated into Shareloom student community online forums and in-person community events, allowing students easier access to tools that can support their career development as they seek to realise ideas, and monetise their portfolios and creative skillsets in a safe and secure environment.

In particular the DAFNE+ is helping researchers explore how we:

  • Protect student work online using declaration of asset and artwork ownership through the blockchain.
  • Enable a student or student group to sell finished work more fairly via NFT: ability to monetize your work through NFT-based distribution.
  • Manage group projects and events through blockchain based community interaction: group and collective work management through decentralised autonomous organisation.

Creative Jam – in Manchester and Barcelona

In the first phase of testing, we will run a one-week Creative Jam in January 2024 with students in Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK and students at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona with DAFNE+ project partners FabLab. Students will be introduced to the fairer business models and working practices made possible by the project such as allowing collaborative authorship to be acknowledged and remunerated using innovative NFT technology and legal schemes. Students will also explore the fairer use of a decentralised autonomous organisations (DAO) that could allow better network wide decision making on core issues of governance. The Creative Jam is expected to be complemented by talks from experts at the BBC North, Known Origin and others in the field. An output of the jam event will be an exhibition online. Students from the two European cities will discuss the nature of the exhibition and it will use DAFNE+ and its tools to facilitate.

Feeding back into the DAFNE+ project

The Creative Jam event will play a crucial role in the initial user testing of the DAFNE+ tools and features for this use case. As well as providing country-specific feedback, it is expected that the event will bring together staff and students from Manchester and Barcalona campuses in hybrid (online and in-person setting), providing a unique opportunity for cross-cultural collaboration and knowledge exchange that will benefit analysis of the platform and feed into its aims for new forms of community building. The second jam will take place a year later in January 2025 with the final version of DAFNE+.