Empowering the next wave of blockchain creators

Learn why we opened up our terms of service, gave the Nifty License away for free, and started a special program for third-party creators

Blockchain makes a lot of incredible things possible. It gives digital assets real-world value, it makes platforms decentralized (which means third-party creators can build experiences upwards from the core concept), and it empowers everyone from creators to consumers to be a stakeholder.

With blockchain, an individual can own their experience and shape it as they see fit. An independent developer can create a complementary experience to a core concept like CryptoKitties without giving us a dime. And all of this makes the core experience better for everyone.

To make this even easier, we recently updated our Terms of Service and launched a new initiative, the Nifty License, to give developers more freedom when they build on top of existing platforms (like CryptoKitties!). We wanted to explain both those updates in more detail here.

What the updated Terms of Service mean

The updated Terms of Service gives developers more freedom to use CryptoKitties artwork when building third-party apps. As long as they aren’t selling the art, they’re free to incorporate it into their project. This has been our informal policy for a long time, but with the launch of KittyVerse, it was time to make it official.

KittyRaces, for example, let’s a user choose which of their cats to race and bases the Kitty’s speed off certain Cattributes. They could charge players a fee to race (although at the moment, they don’t), and because they’d make that revenue from the experience they’re providing, not the art, they’re good to go.

What someone can’t do is sell CryptoKitties artwork or use it to advertise another product. But someone can use a service like CryptoGoods to create swag like mugs and shirts printed with an image of a Kitty they own for their own use.

What the Nifty License does

Blockchain — the technology behind CryptoKitties and the unique value it offers — promises to change what ownership means when it comes to digital assets and art.

The Nifty License is for any independent or third-party creator to freely leverage for their project. The license demystifies the rights for NFT owners (i.e. people who own ERC-721 tokens — like CryptoKitties!). Any cryptocollectibles project can use it, and we’re eager for feedback on improving it.

KittyVerse developers use the Nifty License to build projects on CryptoKitties platform. And speaking of KittyVerse projects…

Want to be a KittyVerse Creator? We want to help

We want to help KittyVerse Creators succeed. To help, we’re offering select projects tools, training, and even funding to take their project from concept to beautiful creation.

Much as we didn’t launch CryptoKitties with an ICO (but instead designed it around a transparent revenue model), we don’t want to thoughtlessly throw money at projects. Instead, we plan to give creators the tools they need to succeed in a self-sustaining way.

To accomplish this, Developurrs who qualify for our program will receive:

• Tools
• Training (we may even fly you to CryptoKitties HQ for a working session!)
• Financial support

These are just the first steps in empowering future blockchain creators

Both the Terms of Service and the Nifty License are works in progress, and will continually evolve as we get more feedback from the community.

Why don’t you let us know what you think right meow? You can leave your feedback here.

Finally, we know and love that every member of our community is a stakeholder in CryptoKitties. We’re grateful for all your help in bringing our digital cats to life.