Blockchain Platform for Securing IP Rights Launched in Italy

A platform for property rights protection using blockchain technology has recently been launched in Italy. It will provide storage and digital management services for intangible assets including cryptocurrencies. Customers will also be helped in conducting different strategic matters for the management, conservation and protection of rights, so as to reduce the risks of dispersion and loss of IP rights.

The platform belongs to a startup called LCA Studio Legale. The preservation and protection of intellectual property is an extremely delicate and strategic issue for many firms, governments and major institutions: the large amount of intangible assets produced doesn’t always thrive in being protected quickly and above all in keeping pace with the speed of the digital realm.

   

A Blockchain that delivers a flawless and correct ownership record of intangible assets for the business could be more operative to cross-examine than the existing methods being used by the IP law companies.  

For instance, audits may be significantly streamlined if companies have access to a wide-ranging, time-stamped and immutable record of all IP made by or within the company, plus all third-party property being used. This gives an imperative protection against liability for breach of the intellectual property rights of other businesses because of meagre governance or errors, and an improved capacity to spot and shield the value of the property produced by the company.

The application of blockchain tech in this case may help decrease the ‘grunt work’ related with the projection of rights, for which due diligence has to be carried out.

Blockchain could also be used in the creation of smart contracts to rationalize the implementation and application of licenses. Smart contracts have a self-executing nature and this implies that holders can automatically get payments and in real-time wherever on earth their intangible property is utilized by other businesses or third parties.  

Possible Applications of Blockchain for Property Rights   

Blockchain tech will make it possible to archive the attestations of use of trademarks, with the aim of sidestepping penalization and annulment actions for non-use, in addition to documentation about creative works of any sort.  

The blockchain network platform will further maintain, preserve and protect its knowledge and digitize the contractual attachments about intellectual rights. The archiving of digital documents will lead to the release of a virtual blockchain official certificate when the documents are uploaded to the platform.

The benefits of applying blockchain to the management of intellectual property rights are many. Storing rights on a blockchain network instead of in a traditional database could efficiently make them “smart IP rights.”  

In the future, IP offices will use blockchain tech to form “smart registries” in a consolidated solution operated by the office as a responsible organ that would develop an unchallengeable record of proceedings over the life of an officially enumerated right, that would include some information such as when a trademark was initially used for, cataloged or registered, the time it was first utilised in trade; when a trademark was licensed, etc., the initiative would also play a role in solving the physical constraints of organizing, storing and producing such proof.  

Companies Offering IP Rights Protection Based on Blockchain   

The ability to track the whole life cycle of an IP right would also help in smoothing intellectual property rights audits, abridge the due diligence processes that are so essential for IP transactions, especially in unions and procurements. There are many blockchain platforms that are already supporting property management and these include: Bernstein Technologies; Stampery; Binded; Bitcoin.com; Proofstack; Proof of existence; Blockai; Blocknotary; Coprobo; Signatura; and many others.  

Going by tradition, intellectual property rights are formed by the notaries through unwieldy and costly ways. The time lag between when the initial idea was formed to the period when a patent is fully filed can really take long, and this can lead to deficiency of IP fortification. For firms which make discoveries or any other content that needs protection, experiences extraordinary risks plus weighty functional cost.

Applying blockchain tech as an intellectual property registry, authors can easily keep the IP as an encoded document, demonstrating a digital certificate of validity. It further guarantees a tamper-proof confirmation of possession and a sequential recording of dealings, and also initiates decentralization.

Generally, the IP kept on the blockchain network can be protected in an encoded format, that only permits authorized individuals, like the author, collecting societies, or clienteles that have paid to get access of decrypting the data. Blockchain provides potentials for licensing works by plummeting the transactions costs and crafting a straight connection between the users/customers and authors.

Source text:  https://it.coinidol.com/piattaforma-blockchain-intellettuale/