Futures Contracts on 71 Million Neurons Sold in Single Evening
28 October 2003 - 5:39AM
PR Newswire (US)
Futures Contracts on 71 Million Neurons Sold in Single Evening
Record IPO for Conceptual Artist Who Copyrighted His Own Mind SAN
FRANCISCO, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Modernism, Inc. is pleased to
announce that yesterday's initial public offering of futures
contracts on conceptual artist Jonathon Keats' brain sold options
on an unexpected 71,000,000 neurons. At a strike price of one cent
per unit, those contracts alone could net $710,000, upon the
artist's death, enough money, some believe, to fund his
recently-declared bid for immortality. Last month, Mr. Keats, 32
years old, announced that he filed with the United States Copyright
Office for intellectual property protection on his mind. Because
Title 17 of the United States Code stipulates that copyright
"endures for a term consisting of the life of the author and 70
years after the author's death," experts have calculated that
Jonathon Keats's mind will survive, legally speaking, for precisely
seven decades after his body stops working. In order to exploit
this opportunity, he will transfer all intellectual property rights
to the Jonathon Keats Holding Company immediately upon his death.
Operating expenses for the Holding Company will be covered by the
sale of Keats' brain, initiated at Modernism last night, and
ongoing for the remainder of his life. As the neurons optioned thus
far represent a mere 1.18 percent of the 6 billion available,
active trading at Modernism is expected to continue for at least
the next couple decades. "Contracts on an additional 5,929,000,000
neurons remain available," notes Mr. Keats, who sat at a typewriter
the entire evening, filling out triplicate forms while patrons
sipped chilled chardonnay. "I guess I'm going to be around here for
a long time to come." To expedite sales, and to inspire ongoing
confidence in his brain, Mr. Keats himself purchased a contract for
1,000,000 of his own neurons. "At the standard premium of 1/1000
cent per neuron, I spent ten dollars," he says. "It's my first real
investment." His purchase was followed by a flurry of orders from
47 others, both in person and via post. Investors included
neurologists, economists and roboticists. The youngest purchaser,
Rachel Bender of Mill Valley, CA was 8 years old. One speculator,
Jeremiah Benjamin Stewart of Oakland, CA, even made a $10 profit
when he resold a contract for 1,000,000 neurons to George Coates of
Berkeley, CA for $20 (plus the Board of Trade's 10 percent transfer
fee). "As an art dealer, I didn't know what to expect," says Martin
Muller of Modernism, the San Francisco gallery that serves as
exclusive Board of Trade. "Futures contracts on an artist's neurons
are not the same as paintings." Mr. Keats, who does not know how to
paint, is well aware of that. "I do what I can," he says. "The
worth of these contracts will be determined by how much people
value that." DATASOURCE: Modernism, Inc. CONTACT: Jonathon Keats,
+1-415-673-9052, for Modernism, Inc. Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/185007.html
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