Abstract
“Blockchain” is the buzzword of the year, if not the decade. Aside from the role Blockchain plays in cryptocurrency transactions, Blockchain technology has the potential for significant real-world applications. Disruptive Blockchain technology can be applied to intellectual property-driven businesses – fighting piracy, securing supply-chains, and tracking and tracing provenance for example. However, the use of Blockchain in intellectual property driven businesses also raises some questions. For example, how can users be sure the information on Blockchain is completely reliable? How will providers and users cope with possible cross-jurisdictional legal issues? Can the integrity of Blockchain based data be guaranteed and how will providers and users handle data protection? Equally, regulatory issues will continue to be of major concern to the implementation of Blockchain. Discussions over these legal issues will, for now, remain to some extent embryonic. However, China is now at the forefront of releasing Blockchain Potential in Intellectual Property, and some initiatives already undertaken in China and elsewhere could potentially set new standards, norms, and legal principles.
I. Introduction
Blockchain has received a fair amount of public attention as the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. However, even more intriguing from a legal perspective are the myriad ways Blockchain technology can be applied to the real world. This is particularly the case for intellectual property-driven businesses and applications. Blockchain technology is setting new technical standards and concomitant legal norms in respect of intellectual property-driven businesses. This development requires some legal analysis.
In simple terms, Blockchain transactions and data are grouped into blocks, which are linked into chains in the digital space. Digital ledgers, as it were, are created and distributed throughout the Internet on a global basis (hence the term “distributed ledger technology (DLT)”. Each one of these blocks contains a “header” which includes a unique digital fingerprint (a hash) . The header neatly organises and timestamps the data in that block. But the key feature is that the data in these blocks is “immutable”: it cannot be modified or deleted. It is this security feature which makes Blockchain so attractive in today’s digital world. For example, online track-and-trace applications for trademarked products, authentication and provenance technologies, privacy and individual data protection, copyright registries, music licensing platforms and smart IP contracts are all possible outflows from Blockchain development.
The following six fundamental functions of Blockchain can be used for intellectual property purposes in the real world:
The implications are clear: disruptive Blockchain technology can be applied to intellectual property-driven businesses – fighting piracy, securing supply-chains, and tracking and tracing provenance – through intrinsic guarantees on immutability of data, distributed systemic trust, and automatic and verifiable smart contract execution.
This article will seek to explore existing uses of Blockchain and the potential for further Blockchain technology applications, as well as possible challenges facing its adoption in the intellectual property space.
A degree of scepticism has been expressed in the tech and commercial worlds over the past two years about whether Blockchain has any practical and solid application to commerce. At the other end of the spectrum, converts are advocating Blockchain as the best software innovation since sliced bread. The hallowed middle ground is awaiting the real-world application of Blockchain with cautious optimism. Meanwhile, some actual Blockchain-based intellectual property solutions have already begun to emerge. In what follows, we will review and analyse some of the ways that Blockchain is now being used in commerce, together with both the intended and unintended norm-setting legal consequences.
