Page 18 - Quarterly Q1-Q2 2018

BLOCKCHAIN IS A CHAIN OF BLOCKS
Blockchain is a new paradigm for data storage security. It is not the same thing as Bitcoin, which is just its first major application, but something vastly more. Blockchain is public domain invention, which acts as a distributed and decentralized bookkeeping system, and is used to store information in an encrypted form. Each set of data (a block, hence the name) is recorded and then verified by a very large number of participating computers around the world. All participating computers have their own identical copy of the ledger, a canonical record, if you will.
The block is timestamped to show when the event occurred and it is then added to a chain of previous data with a link to the previous blocks. No single user controls the blockchain system and it can be inspected by anyone, making it truly unique.
QUARTERLY Q/1–Q/2 – 2018
transparency, such as Provenance, which offers
a digital passport for a product’s authenticity and origin, Everledger which is used for uploading
the characteristics, history and ownership of diamonds to the blockchain and Modum, which offers a monitoring solution for pharmaceuticals and their temperature during transportation. These are initiatives which, at least to the level of trust exhibited by these services, have not been possible in the pre-blockchain era.
IP Registration
The contents of IP registration are traditionally defined by documentation, (trademark information, patent records, ownership details). By virtue of its nature, there are applications for the blockchain technology in the recording and verification of different components of such documentation,
such as ownership, identity, contents, transaction history, etc. The blockchain technology could be used by the IP offices to aid in the registration
and granting of IP rights, e.g. to be used instead
of the traditional databases with information on registered trademarks, designs and patents. Changing the recording system to be based on blockchain would increase the registrations’
value and trustworthiness and create additional regulatory opportunities to build from these newfound possibilities.
IP Enforcement
The blockchain technology has a definite potential to completely revolutionize IP enforcement and anti-counterfeiting. If the right holder is able to convey to the authorities, especially the customs, a message that authentic products contain an easily readable feature proving that the product is authentic, it would greatly enhance the potential for unauthorized products to be caught by the authorities. Technology related interactive tags
is not new, but the previous solutions such as QR codes, NFC and RFID tags were much more prone to copying and other misuse than blockchain- related technology. Counterfeiters and dealers in grey market goods would be unable to alter the information contained in the blockchain.
First Wave
A growing number of companies are riding the early developer wave and have started offering blockchain related IP services. Such companies include Bernstein Technologies, which secures
IP assets and innovation processes, Kyna, which automates the transaction of patents, Ujo, a platform which allows musicians to automatically license their works through Ethereum and Blockai, which helps artists to register their copyrighted work. Several of the IP related blockchain developer companies are still on startup stage, but we are certain to see the amount of blockchain powered IP services to increase in the near future.
Friend or Foe?
For blockchain to become more than pie in the sky, there is a lot of work to be done with technological issues. Most of all there is work to be done with legislators, so that the technology is not seen as an enemy of the state, but rather as its ally. However, not all states are reluctant to start implementing blockchain technology to their administrative functions. The Estonian government has been using a Keyless Signature Infrastructure (KSI) technology to allow Estonian citizens to verify the integrity of their records in government databases, helping Estonia to launch digital services such as e-Tax, and reducing the state’s administrative burden in the process.
“Blockchain has all the characteristics of being a game changer in the networked information economy.”
The European Union Intellectual Property Office EUIPO has understood the possibilities blockchain offers and is developing their readiness to use blockchain to record and enforce IP rights. EUIPO has engaged blockchain experts, national IP offices and right holder representatives in the development of blockchain applications.