Los Angeles-based technology startup Creative Covenant Inc. has launched ARK, a new application designed to protect intellectual property rights for “human creators” across various industries.
The platform uses blockchain technology and biometric verification to help artists, writers, musicians, and other creatives secure their work in the digital age, according to a press release.
The startup has secured funding from venture capital firm Claritas Capital as well as performing rights organization BMI, which has additionally established a strategic partnership with the platform.
Under this partnership, BMI plans to offer its members exclusive access to ARK this summer through its recently launched Spark program, which provides resources and tools for music creators.
Founded by songwriter Jamie Hartman and scriptwriter Ed Bennett-Coles, Creative Covenant developed ARK over a two-year period before soft-launching mobile versions for iPhone and Android earlier this year.
The company is currently developing a desktop application, with plans to implement a subscription model this summer.
“ARK is not just a tool – it’s a movement. We are giving human creators the tools they need to safeguard their work, assert their rights, and build sustainable careers in industries where IP protection has often been overlooked or underdeveloped,” Bennett-Coles said.
“We are giving human creators the tools they need to safeguard their work, assert their rights, and build sustainable careers in industries where IP protection has often been overlooked or underdeveloped.”
Ed Bennett-Coles, Creative Covenant
Hartman, a four-time BMI award winner and former Ivor Novello Songwriter of the Year, highlighted Creative Covenant’s focus on protecting human creativity.
He said: “Our mission is simple: to ensure that the next generation of songwriters and indeed all human creators can thrive and be rewarded for their ingenuity and hard work – whilst protecting pre-existing human Intellectual Property, the seeds of human innovation, for future generations.”
ARK includes several features designed to protect creators’ rights: secure non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property tracking, blockchain-based verification, and biometric security measures. Creative Covenant said these features will help creators secure their rights without requiring technical expertise
“The amount of music that will be released weekly in even two years, and the amount that will have been AI-created is far beyond what most folks realize.”
Lucas Keller, Milk & Honey Music + Sports
The launch of ARK comes amid increasing concerns about AI’s impact on artists, especially as AI-generated content becomes more sophisticated and as concerns about ownership, attribution, and compensation grow.
A number of lawsuits have already been filed against AI companies over the alleged use of artists’ IPs without permission.
Lucas Keller, president of talent management firm Milk & Honey Music + Sports, who helped facilitate the BMI partnership, said, “ARK allows our clients to rest assured their work is protected. The amount of music that will be released weekly in even two years, and the amount that will have been AI-created is far beyond what most folks realize. I believe deeply that ARK is the answer for the human contribution to art and protecting our IP.”
Creative Covenant says Harvard Business School has recognized the significance of ARK’s technology, featuring it as a business case.
ARK enters a competitive landscape of IP management solutions. The IP management software market was valued at USD $12.30 billion in 2024 and is forecast to expand at a CAGR of 12.9% from 2025 to 2030, according to Grand View Research.
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