Rohit Kumar is responsible for Researchwire European & North American business. He is an HEC, Paris 2008 MBA and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur 2002 engineering graduate with close to 17 years of experience in business innovation and strategy, business development and client relationship roles. He is working with ResearchWire since 2016 and as a partner, is responsible for the growth of ResearchWire in Europe and North America.
Prior to ResearchWire, Rohit was handling sales strategy and pricing for Syniverse Technologies, a telecom services provider, where he was instrumental for growth in EMEA and India through product innovations, creative pricing and discounting models and executing strategic sales plans.
Rohit is based out of Luxembourg and has been living in Europe for last 12 years. He understands European & North American customers and their needs and ensures that our customers always have a local person to reach out whenever needed.
Blockchain is one of the most talked-about technologies in recent times, and rightly so. Its implications are incredible and has the ability to positively affect almost any industry you can possibly think of. From tracking the progress of goods in the supply chain to verifying the ownership of a piece of art, blockchain is here to stay. Undoubtedly, the world of intellectual property (IP) will see a ton of applications dedicated to it.
In this article, we will learn about the various applications of blockchain in the IP world.
What is Blockchain?
It is a secure and transparent digital ledger and its system of recording information makes it impossible to hack or cheat into. Each block in the chain contains transactions, and every time there is a new transaction in the blockchain, a record of it is added to every participant’s ledger.
No one owns Blockchain. It is a distributed ledger through the nodes connected to the chain. Some of the biggest names in the business world, such as, Microsoft, Amazon, Tencent, Walmart, Alibaba, Samsung, PayPal, etc., have live blockchain operations.
Blockchain’s relevance in the Intellectual Property world:
One of the most valuable assets is intellectual property, and given the pace at which businesses innovate, IP is the ultimate competitive advantage. According to US research firms, 84% of the S&P 500’s market value is incredibly difficult to manage, value, and transact.
When the patents with blockchain claim first got mainstream in 2016, there were only three. As of November 2, 2021, the number grew to 2,660.
Patentability of Blockchain-based technologies:
The number of patent applications that have the word ‘blockchain’ in it has increased, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect in the approval rates. It will take sometime before we know the rate of success of blockchain-related patents. Most of the blockchain patents are utility patents, they cover processes, features, and functions of technology. A utility patent protects the unique combination of components which go into running the application.
Who are the leaders in Blockchain Patents?
There has been a huge adoption of the blockchain technology by businesses of all sizes, especially in China. More than 10,000 blockchain-related patents have been filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).
China accounts for 46% of the global patent applications filed in 2020 by leading 100 companies, while the US has around 24%. It is closely followed by Japan (8%), South Korea (7%), Germany (5%), Sweden and the UK (2% each). Alibaba holds the most granted blockchain patents at 212, while IBM has 136 patents.
The number of patents that are filed in this field adds credibility to the potential of blockchain. Getting blockchain IP in many areas would be extremely beneficial for companies.
Blockchain applications in the IP world:
Thanks to its security, accountability, low maintenance cost, and the impossible-to-hack nature of blockchain, you can safely assume that it will have a number of applications in the IP world. Let us look at a few blockchain applications in the Intellectual Property field.
- Smart contracts:
A smart contract is a program stored on a blockchain which runs when predefined conditions are met. Since blockchains can execute contractual codes, it could be a game-changer for digital rights management and other IP transactions. Smart contracts can be used to enforce IP agreements like licenses, and ensure that payments happen in real-time, to IP owners.
The camera brand Kodak, recently launched a blockchain-based image rights management platform, and is aimed at servicing businesses and governments to store and manage sensitive documents.
- Supply Chain Management:
Since blockchain has the ability to track goods, it could help brands enforce contractual terms with respect to distribution. It will also be able to check for anomalies in the distribution system and even identify if there is any untoward activity that happens in the background. By tracking product distribution, regulatory requirements can also be met.
- Act as IP registry:
They can also be used as a technology-based IP registry where IP owners could use digital certificates of their IP. Inventors can use the blockchain platform to collect royalties from those who are using their IP. One of the biggest issues with patent filing and application is that it takes up a lot of time for approvals. For businesses that are looking to gain by being the first at something, this can hamper their ability to not only protect their innovation, but also stops them from taking full advantage of the IP.
- Evidence of ownership:
Since blockchain can provide proof of conception, use, qualification requirements, and status, it can play a huge role with respect to unregistered IP rights. When an inventor uploads the original design or at least the details of the work to a blockchain, it will create a time-stamped record and will act as a valid proof of the ownership. Many blockchain-based startups are already working on distributed ledger technology-based repositories. It will be a great application for both copyright protection and digital rights management.
- Maintaining version control of digital assets:
The average patent or copyrights would have had multiple versions over the course of their lifetime and there is a pressing need to link these different versions. Blockchain can be used in such a scenario where all the versions of the digital assets can be linked using the ledger technology. It can be used for managing the digital asset’s entire lifecycle.
- Anti-counterfeiting:
The ability to identify an original one from a fake is possible because of the blockchain ledger that cannot be compromised. Everyone in the supply chain would be able to validate the genuinity of the product- customers, custom authorities, vendors, etc.
Since blockchain ledgers hold IP rights information, it can also be used as a certificate of provenance. Provenance is the document which validates an authentic art piece as it outlines the work’s creator, history and appraisal value. The blockchain ledger holds information about the product’s manufacturing process, when and where they are made, raw material’s sources, etc. Such solutions are gaining fast acceptance among businesses, consumers, and insurance companies.
- Micro-licensing:
Blockchain can also be used for the management of access authorization and for the grant of licenses. Access will be granted to digital content only if the payment has been validated in the blockchain. Also, when it comes to licensing, blockchain can track who all have been granted licenses, and also ensure that the royalties are paid on time.
- R&D agreements:
If there are two parties collaborating with each other’s IP, then they can license their existing IP to each other to create a new IPR. Allocating ownership of the new IP can be handled through the blockchain solution. Milestone-based payments could also be made to the parties based on how far they have come in the project.
- IP Marketplace:
Since blockchain utilizes the distributed ledger technology, it has the ability to record, share, and synchronize transactions in their respective electronic ledgers. Blockchain can potentially be used as a platform where inventors can store their information in the form of ledgers with a note describing their invention. It can act as an IP marketplace where potential licensees will get to know about inventions and the patent holders/inventors.
- For information sharing of IPR related data:
The ledger technology that blockchain uses can change the way IPR-related information is shared. By using this way of sharing information, you will not be compromising on the transparency, security, and other regulatory frameworks. IPR is one area where information sharing has to be sacrosanct and not everyone can have access to it.
- Unifying global patent system:
Unifying the patent system across the world is one use case that the ledger technology of blockchain can surely solve. It can solve the speed at which applications filed are processed, fastens the innovation process, and provides a more evolved information-sharing process. A few patent offices have even started accepting blockchain as proof of evidence under electronic evidence.
- Collaboration between IP offices:
Since blockchain has the feature to track all activities, it will be extremely useful when collaborations between different IP offices happen during prosecution of IP applications. Information sharing with World Intellectual Property Offices (WIPO) will also be easier if data is maintained using blockchain technology.
- MSMEs can use IP judiciously:
When information regarding IP rights is made available on the blockchain, it will help small and medium businesses to invest their resources without having to infringe on others rights. They will also be able to use technologies whose IP rights have expired. While this is possible even now, they will need to invest in a lot of resources, both monetary and time, to identify if they are infringing on someone else’s IP.
- Settle IP disputes:
If all IP data is made available on the blockchain, then it will be easier to sort out IP related issues. It will be easy to gauge the genuineness of IP rights and even the law enforcement agencies will find it pretty simple to solve these cases not only in the right manner, but also expedite them.
Conclusion:
If you are using blockchain-backed technologies as a part of your intellectual property endeavours, then you are best advised to file your patent application as quickly as possible. By doing so, your innovation will be protected. The first few use cases of blockchain have shown a lot of promise, but we would need to research further to understand the full potential of blockchain, and also consider the legal challenges that will come up.
Schedule a consultation call with one of our IP experts to check if you can patent your blockchain-driven innovation. Researchwire’s experts are well-versed with the nuances of laws pertaining to IP as well as blockchain, and would be able to offer you the right solution.
