humandigital.tech · The HAND Standard

Human & Digital founded HAND.
They are distinct entities — by design.

Understanding the relationship between H&D and HAND is essential for anyone entering a commercial relationship, negotiating a contract, or evaluating an investment. This page explains the structure plainly — and why that structure is a feature, not a complexity.

Visit hand-id.org ↗ Why this structure? →
Entity Structure

One vision. Two entities.
One clear line.

H&D and HAND are related but structurally distinct. Every commercial contract runs through H&D. The identifier standard is governed by HAND. That separation is deliberate — and it mirrors the architecture of every successful universal identifier standard in existence.

For-Profit
Human & Digital, Inc.
humandigital.tech
The commercial media technology company. Conceived, developed, and commercializes professional services built on the HAND ecosystem. The entity you contract with — on your MSA, SOW, and invoices.
⬡Identity Intelligence
⬡HAND ID Registration
⬡Meta-Tagging & Data Labeling
⬡Data Transformation
Nonprofit
HAND — The Universal Talent Identifier
hand-id.org
The independent Delaware non-stock nonprofit C corporation and 501(c)(6) trade association. Maintains the identifier registry, sets governance policy, operates in the public interest of talent across Cultural Industries.
◯ 145K+ IDs registered in the DOI registry
◯ 10M+ citation-backed candidate records
◯ 3B+ DOI resolutions / month globally
◯ ISO 26324:2025 aligned
H&D founded & funds HAND · Commercially distinct · Structurally aligned
The Founding Story

From insight to infrastructure —
the timeline that got us here.

In 2022, Will Kreth — drawing on his tenure as Executive Director of EIDR.org and decades in the media supply chain — founded Human & Digital with a single premise: the media industry had solved content identification (EIDR, ISRC, ISNI) but had never solved talent identification at scale. What followed was deliberate infrastructure-building, not a pivot.

2022
Human & Digital, Inc. founded
Will Kreth establishes H&D as the for-profit commercial entity. HAND identifier concept developed. DOI Foundation registry relationship established. The deliberate decision to govern the standard through an independent nonprofit mirrors the architecture of EIDR, ISNI, and ISO itself.
DOI Foundation Registry H&D Incorporated HAND Nonprofit Structure
2023
HAND registry launched · 145K+ IDs issued · Standards engagement begins
HAND Talent IDs go live on the DOI.org registry. 145K+ IDs issued from a 10M+ citation-backed candidate pool — Citation-Backed Notability™ ensures every record is sourced from verifiable, independent citations, not self-reported credentials or gamed metrics. C2PA and CAWG membership begins. Paul Jessop — former CTO of IFPI and the RIAA, Executive Director of the US ISRC Agency, co-author of ISNI — publishes A Manifesto for Creator Identification and Protection in October, calling publicly for exactly the infrastructure HAND had already built. Sprockit Open Innovation cohort membership begins, with Disney, Amazon, Sony, Paramount, NBCUniversal, and 40+ Fortune 500 M&E companies as corporate participants.
145K+ IDs Registered C2PA Member CAWG Member Sprockit Cohort Jessop Manifesto
2024
Legislative groundwork · Production integrations begin
CA AB 1836 (digital replica consent), AB 2602 (AI performance protections), NY S.8420-A and S.8391 signed into law — creating structural economic incentive for talent ID adoption. ISO 26324:2025 alignment confirmed. SAG-AFTRA engagement deepens. Active enterprise-level commercial engagement begins with a major Hollywood studio evaluating production-grade HAND ID integration. SXSW Pitch 2025: H&D selected as a Top 5 finalist from 589 applicants in the Entertainment, Media, Sports & Content category — the only US company in the cohort.
CA AB 1836 / AB 2602 NY S.8420-A ISO 26324:2025 Major Studio Engagement SXSW Top 5 of 589
2025 — 2026
The inflection point — everything converges
Active enterprise commercial engagement with a major Hollywood studio at production evaluation stage. Details under NDA. 2025 MLB First Round Draft Class, NBA Draft Class, and Primetime Emmy Nominees all receive HAND IDs — the registry operating at scale, proactively, ahead of industry calendars. H&D shortlisted for the 2026 Smarter Sports Awards in three categories (ceremony May 13, London). SAG-AFTRA / AMPTP 2026 negotiations active. MLBPA / MLB CBA expiring December 2026. NO FAKES Act federal momentum. Renard T. Jenkins named first Board Chairman of HAND in January 2026.
Major Studio — Enterprise Evaluation MLB + NBA + Emmy IDs Smarter Sports 3x Shortlist Jenkins Board Chairman SAG-AFTRA Negotiations Active NO FAKES Act
Institutional Lineage

The people who built the standards
the industry already runs on.

HAND’s board and advisory roster is not assembled from generalists. Every member brings specific, irreplaceable institutional lineage from the bodies that created the identifier infrastructure the Cultural Industries already depend on. Due diligence on any of these credentials takes thirty seconds.

RTJ
Renard T. Jenkins
HAND Board Chairman
Past President, SMPTE. Thirty-plus years building bridges between creative communities, technology platforms, and global media standards. Named HAND’s first Board Chairman, January 2026.
SMPTE sets the technical standards for how content is made. Its former President chairs HAND’s board.
RD
Raymond Drewry
HAND Board Member
Co-Founder, EIDR. Principal Scientist, MovieLabs. Author of the 2019 MovieLabs white paper “Creating a Talent Identifier for the Entertainment Industry” — which called for exactly what HAND built. EIDR and HAND are sibling DOI Registration Agencies. His presence on HAND’s board is structural alignment, not coincidence.
EIDR co-founder on HAND’s board. HAND’s success deepens EIDR’s value. He knows this.
SP
Scott Perry
HAND Board Member
C2PA Conformance Lead. CAWG Co-Chair. The person who chairs the working group that sets C2PA conformance requirements — the content authenticity standard being adopted by every major platform — sits on HAND’s board.
C2PA Conformance Lead on HAND’s board. That is structural alignment, not a partnership announcement.
PJ
Paul Jessop
HAND Strategic Advisor
Former CTO, IFPI & RIAA. Executive Director, US ISRC Agency (current). Co-author, ISNI (ISO 27729). Founder of DDEX. Former Technology Adviser, DOI Foundation. Among the first people Will Kreth brought into the HAND conversation. Published A Manifesto for Creator Identification and Protection (Oct. 2023) — independently, publicly, under his own name.
The person who helped build ISNI was in the room from the beginning. Then he said it publicly.
Structural Rationale

Why separate for-profit
and nonprofit?

This structure is not incidental — it is the deliberate architecture of every successful universal identifier standard. The DOI Foundation, EIDR, ISNI, and ISO itself all operate on the same principle: a neutral, independently governed standard earns adoption across competing commercial interests in a way that a proprietary, company-owned standard never can.

For H&D
Commercially neutral standard = broader adoption
Studios, streamers, guilds, and agencies are more willing to adopt an identifier governed by a neutral nonprofit than one owned by a company with a commercial interest in their data. The nonprofit structure removes a major objection from enterprise sales conversations before it’s raised.
For Talent & Guilds
Trust without conflict of interest
SAG-AFTRA, WGA, DGA, and other guilds can engage with the HAND standard knowing it is not controlled by a party with a financial stake in their contract negotiations. The nonprofit governance structure is a precondition for guild trust — not a nice-to-have.
For Investors
Durable competitive moat
H&D’s commercial services are built on a standard that no competitor can simply replicate or acquire. The nonprofit structure protects the registry’s integrity and H&D’s position as the primary commercial services provider in the ecosystem. You are investing in the commercial layer of a standard — not just a product.
For the Industry
Precedent from trusted infrastructure
Every major identifier standard the media industry depends on — DOI, EIDR, ISRC, ISNI — is governed by a nonprofit or standards body. HAND follows that model precisely, ensuring interoperability and longevity that proprietary systems cannot guarantee. This is not an experiment. It is the proven model.
What This Means For You

The H&D / HAND relationship
for every stakeholder.

The structure has different practical implications depending on who you are. Select your context.

You are investing in Human & Digital, Inc.

You are investing in the for-profit Delaware C-Corp that provides commercial services built on the HAND ecosystem. Your investment does not flow to the HAND nonprofit. H&D’s commercial moat derives from being the founding organization of HAND and the primary commercial services provider in the ecosystem.

Revenue modelProfessional services fees across four tiers — Identity Intelligence, HAND ID Registration, Meta-Tagging, Data Transformation. Enterprise MSA model with Sony in progress.
Competitive moatThe nonprofit structure means no competitor can acquire or replicate the standard. H&D’s position as founder and primary services provider is structurally durable — not just a first-mover advantage.
Market timing2026 legislative convergence, SAG-AFTRA/AMPTP negotiations, MLBPA/MLB CBA expiry, and NCAA NIL infrastructure gap create structural economic incentive for adoption that did not exist before this year.
Governance featureThe nonprofit structure is a feature, not a risk — it increases the standard’s adoption potential and therefore H&D’s addressable market.
Two entities, two different relationships.

HAND — The Universal Talent Identifier is the nonprofit standard body you engage with on governance, policy, and registry matters. It operates independently of H&D’s commercial interests. Human & Digital is the commercial entity that helps your guild implement HAND IDs in member workflows, contract systems, and benefit tracking infrastructure.

No conflict of interestHAND’s nonprofit governance ensures the standard is not controlled by a studio, streamer, or commercial party with interests adverse to talent. That is the precondition for guild trust.
Guild engagementH&D actively engages with major guilds and unions on the commercial services layer. 2026 represents the first moment legislative convergence makes broad adoption structurally viable across the board.
CPRA liability contextThe structural economic incentive for adopting HAND IDs is directly tied to CPRA liability exposure for SSN-based identification — a regulatory development your legal teams are already tracking.
You contract with Human & Digital, Inc.

H&D is the commercial entity — the party on your MSA, SOW, and invoices. HAND IDs are the identifier infrastructure underlying H&D’s services. Because HAND is governed by a nonprofit, the identifiers you implement today will remain interoperable and vendor-neutral regardless of any future changes in H&D’s commercial status.

Rights clearanceHAND IDs accelerate IP rights clearance by providing a globally unique, resolvable identifier for every talent and character in your content library.
AI provenanceC2PA and CAWG membership ensures H&D’s services are aligned with emerging content authenticity standards — critical for AI-generated and synthetic media workflows.
Vendor neutralityThe nonprofit-governed HAND standard means your metadata investment is not locked to H&D. The identifiers are permanently resolvable through the DOI Foundation registry.
Production precedentH&D is in active commercial engagement with a major Hollywood studio evaluating production-grade HAND ID integration. Enterprise integrations follow a well-defined technical path. Details available under NDA.
Your HAND ID belongs to you.

A HAND ID is issued through a nonprofit-governed registry and is permanently, freely resolvable. It is not owned or controlled by any commercial party — including H&D. Human & Digital provides the professional services that help talent, agencies, and managers register, manage, and leverage HAND IDs in commercial workflows.

Career-long portabilityYour HAND ID travels with you across every employer, platform, and project for the full arc of your career — from first credit to legacy estate management.
Legal replica protectionHAND IDs are foundational infrastructure for implementing the protections established by CA AB 1836, AB 2602, and the NO FAKES Act for your digital likeness.
Free tier availableNotable public figures can obtain a HAND ID at no cost. H&D’s commercial services are available through paid tiers for agencies and rights holders.
For leagues, player associations, and college athletics.

HAND is the neutral, portable identifier that works for the league, the union, the athlete, and the compliance department — because it’s controlled by none of them. The jersey number belongs to the team. The HAND ID belongs to the career.

NCAA D1 compliance500,000+ D1 athletes now have NIL rights. HAND IDs provide portable, verifiable identity that survives transfer portal moves, school changes, and the transition from college to professional careers.
CBA neutralityHAND is governed by a nonprofit — not owned by the league or the player association. Both sides can adopt it without conceding anything to the other side of the negotiating table.
AI likeness protectionLicensed Likenesses of athletes — in gaming, virtual production, broadcasting — require a consent chain. HAND’s Type 02 Licensed Likeness IDs provide that chain, linked to the verified athlete record.
Sports media & broadcastStreaming rights deals multiply platforms. Every new platform is a new name-matching problem. HAND solves all of them with a single resolvable ID that any system can look up.
Common Questions

Frequently asked —
plainly answered.

Does H&D own the HAND standard?
No. H&D founded HAND and currently provides the primary commercial services built on it, but the HAND identifier standard is governed by an independent nonprofit. The registry is maintained through the DOI Foundation — the same infrastructure that underpins academic publishing and EIDR. H&D does not own, control, or have the ability to alter the standard’s governance unilaterally.
Which entity do I contract with?
All commercial contracts — MSAs, SOWs, service agreements, and investment instruments — are with Human & Digital, Inc., the for-profit Delaware C-Corp. HAND — The Universal Talent Identifier is the nonprofit standards body and is not a party to commercial agreements.
What happens to my HAND IDs if H&D’s commercial status changes?
HAND IDs are issued through the DOI Foundation registry and governed by the HAND nonprofit. They are permanently and freely resolvable regardless of any changes to H&D’s commercial operations. This is by design — the same permanence guarantee that makes DOI-based identifiers the trusted infrastructure for academic publishing and EIDR.
How does H&D make money if the standard is nonprofit?
H&D’s revenue comes from professional services — Identity Intelligence, HAND ID Registration and management, Meta-Tagging & Data Labeling, and Data Transformation — delivered to enterprise clients, agencies, and rights holders. The nonprofit standard creates the trusted infrastructure. H&D creates the commercial value layer on top of it. This is the same model as many standards-adjacent businesses across the technology and media industries.
Is HAND affiliated with any guild or union?
HAND is an independent nonprofit and is not affiliated with or controlled by any guild, union, studio, or platform. H&D actively engages with guilds, unions, and labor organizations across the Cultural Industries on the commercial services layer.
Is HAND interoperable with EIDR?
Yes — and the relationship is deeper than interoperability. EIDR and HAND are sibling DOI Registration Agencies operating on the same Handle System infrastructure. EIDR identifies content (films, TV shows, edits). HAND identifies talent (the people who create that content). A production record can carry both. Raymond Drewry, Co-Founder of EIDR and Principal Scientist at MovieLabs, sits on HAND’s board. HAND’s success deepens EIDR’s value — and vice versa.
Questions about the H&D / HAND structure?
Our team walks through the entity structure, governance model, and commercial relationship in detail — for investors, legal counsel, and enterprise procurement teams.
Inquire → Visit hand-id.org ↗