Italics

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Problem Statement

Italics is a protocol for publishing digital assets like PDFs. Italics enables readers to instantly purchase access to the PDF using MetaMask. Publishing requires little more than a static web server because the difficult part is handled by the blockchain. Publishers mint semi-fungible tokens that they give or sell to readers. When a reader has the token in their wallet, Italics will unlock the PDF.

Solution

Italics consists of an ERC-1155 token contract that is used to represent access tokens for a PDF. A separate Broker contract supports selling tokens to readers in exchange for a configurable price. A Python Flask server is used to authenticate wallets by verifying a signed nonce. The server also performs access control so that the PDF is only revealed when the authenticated wallet contains the correct ERC-1155 token.