RIGHTS REGISTRY
The operational verification layer that turns cip.md declarations from self-attested rights positions into third-party-verifiable rights records. Forward-looking specification; operational deployment pending governance decisions.
What the Registry is and is not
The Registry is the verification layer turning cip.md declarations into third-party-verifiable records. Not a rights-granting authority. Not a national IP office. Not a database of works — it stores rights metadata, not creative content.
Five operational capabilities
Lookup by Registry ID. Verification of rights-position currency (given CDR ID and timestamp). Verification of operator identity. Provenance-chain resolution (inherited rights positions). Bulk verification for platform integration (makes 95% Rights Payload threshold operational).
The lookup API contract
Base URL: https://registry.creativeip.org/v1/ (provisional). GET /cdrs/{cdr_id}, GET /cdrs/{cdr_id}/at/{timestamp}, GET /operators/{operator_id}, GET /cdrs/{cdr_id}/provenance, POST /resolve. Versioning: /v1/ committed for v3.x lifetime.
Governance options
Option 1 — charity-operated: governance alignment, sustainability challenge. Option 2 — commercial-operated under charity governance: operational realism, moat concern. Option 3 — federated multi-party: maximum neutrality, highest complexity, long-term target.
CIP Rights Registry Architecture v3.11, https://creativeip.org/rights-registry