Turning digital art into lucrative IP

Block 12, a Beijing-headquartered, internet-based startup founded in 2015, is negotiating an uncharted territory for a Chinese business. It specializes in creating, marketing and licensing digital-age intellectual property or IP in the form of original content like comic characters, emojis and the like.

In December, it forayed into overseas market by licensing one of its emojis called Zhangcao Yantuanzi, or Budding Pop, to be dis-played on the landmark Tokyo Tower in Japan. Zhangcao Yantuanzi is China's first IP rights-protected image to be exhibited on a tower abroad.

"It is a big step for made-in-China IP, which is now on the world stage. That Chinese-owned IP made it to a country with a long history of animation speaks volumes about the progress we have made so far," said Wang Biao, founder of Block 12.