Welcome to OpenFiles
A platform that helps connect researchers, publishers, and collectors of important research discoveries
Create, trade, and collect research items as smart contracts linked to the Ethereum blockchain.
Traditional way to credit research
Researchers publish their work to advance knowledge and make an impact, receive credit for their contributions, and to have a permanent record of their research outcomes. However, the research lifecycle in its current form is an echo of the past. Researchers often receive little recognition for their work, research impact is not always clear, and there are better ways to confirm the original source of truth.
The modern research dilemma
Patent pending
File a tedious patent application first or publish ground-breaking discoveries and put an end to the option to patenting the idea
Open access
Pay to publish open access or lose copyrights in favour of a publisher who charges readers for access
Research funding
Pursue a breakthrough idea or follow the mainstream research agenda set by funding bodies
Blockchain to modernise science
Similar to the creative industries (digital art and music), modern research outputs are primarily exchanged online. With the help of blockchain technology, impact can be quantified and credited in a more efficient and credible way, rather than via citations or media coverage.
To help researchers
Publish open access
Increase research impact by publishing open access thereby getting recognition from collectors of research items
Retain copyright
Retain copyright even after issuing a non-fungible token associated with your research item
Generate income
Auction your research items to cover open access fees and earn commission from each resale on the secondary market
Equation has price
In 2021, one of Einstein’s four known handwritten letters of the famous equation E=mc² was sold at auction. While it was commonplace to exchange handwritten or machine-typed letters in the 20th century, modern discoveries now exist online. Non-fungible tokens make it possible to collect and trade research discoveries in a modern and more efficient manner.
To help publishers
Compensate expenses
Get open access fees covered to promote promising and well-established research
Support peer-review
Generate additional income by offering established research discoveries as non-fungible tokens
Create an ecosystem
Support an ecosystem whereby researchers and publishers benefit and are fairly compensated for collaborative effort
Open is valuable
Everyone can download a jpeg file with a CryptoPunk, but there is only a single owner of the token associated with the image. Open access combined with blockchain makes research both easily commercialised and easily accessible to the public. Research that translates into successfully commercialised products can be rewarded with a tiny share from each sale of an end-product that is tracked and distributed based on the blockchain. This removes the heavy burden of patents and/or expensive lawsuits led by patent-trolls hired by businesses.
To help collectors
Get scarce assets
It is nearly impossible to produce an important research object every day
Confirm ownership
Be the only owner of ground-breaking research discoveries recorded and verified on the blockchain
Form ecosystem
Shape an ecosystem where non-fungible tokens supersede the clumsy patenting process
Diverse discoveries
Digital art and electronic music are valuable assets for living on the blockchain. Great research discoveries are extremely rare. Such discoveries require years of planning and development and most cannot be created in one day. Theoretical research is important, but hard experimental data, for example, from the trials that lead to vaccine development or source code that helps to fly a drone on Mars, are also valuable.
Make great discoveries open on openfiles.io
Get started by exploring collections
or creating your first research item on Ethereum