Technology has given way to new forms of protection in which scientists and inventors can expect that their creations be safe and secure; this is how the BLOCKCHAIN originates. The BLOCKCHAIN is a system or database in which authors have the possibility to present different tests through a digital publication, generating a form of rapid systematization of the documents presented.
The BLOCKCHAIN is characterized by having two elements which are immutability and transparency. These two characteristics are related to the security that users find when they know that their information will not be hacked.
Before getting to know the specific role played by the BLOCKCHAIN, it is important to understand how this system works. The BLOCKCHAIN is composed of a series of blocks, and each one contains certain elements, which are the information and the hash (which is the number of identification of the block) and is generated according to the content that it presents; that is, if the content or information changes, the hash will also, and this way the chain that had been formed by the blocks will be invalid. It is important to specify that each user who makes use of the BLOCKCHAIN has a copy of this system and, in that sense, if a user alters certain information from his or her copy, the others will be able to know it and their version will be canceled. This way, all the other users would play the role of guards who take care and avoid that certain information is falsified or modified.
When the BLOCKCHAIN merges with the Intellectual Property, databases such as the IPCHAIN are born, whose main interest is to protect authorships in a safe and easy way while also seeking to offer their users different ways in which they can share information related to Intellectual Property. For instance, they will have the possibility to upload confidential documents. IPCHAIN is characterized by its closeness with Intellectual Property offices, such as the case of collaboration with associations such as WIPO Green (an association of the World Intellectual Property Organization that promotes innovation and diffusion of technologies), the Dennemeyer Group (the world's largest intellectual property law firm), and the Marie Curie Alumni Association MCAA (which represents the interests of more than 10,000 European researchers).
It is the security offered by this platform that makes it very attractive, especially in the case of such delicate operations as transfers or contractual agreements. An example of this would be a license agreement, from which in practice can be difficult to detect a possible breach. However, the existence of this system will allow that, in case the aforementioned contract is registered and a breach of the stipulated terms is detected, the contract will automatically be eliminated.
On the other hand, the BLOCKCHAIN system also plays an important role in regards to the demonstration of creation in the case of copyright. This demonstration is what prevents the copying of creations from third parties. In our country, we have LETHERIAN as a clear example of a BLOCKCHAIN related to the registration of creative works. As it can be appreciated on its website[1], LETHERIAN is a startup that aims to upload different types of works, whether musical, visual arts, literary and/or audiovisual designs, which are subsequently stored in the BLOCKCHAIN, generating a record of intellectual property that allows to demonstrate the date on which the work was created.
Another way in which the BLOCKCHAIN can be very useful in copyright protection is when calculating the gains that a composer can obtain with his musical creation, which can be complicated considering how difficult it would be to have a record of all the times that a particular song is heard, it is in this way that different applications such as MYCELIA are created. This last one is a musical database where you can consume different types of music and pay for these consumptions, and this database was created by a singer named Imogen Heap, who in an interview revealed her motivation for the creation of MYCELIA, as cited below:
“One of the norms should demand that all services return information to the spores. Specifically, data on where, when and how people interact with our music and who does it. This information is gold powder for artists, because if we know how to interpret it, we can get to know our audience better and create opportunities to promote our work more effectively and obtain an economic reward for our work.
“In accordance with another norm, we would use ‘smart contracts’ that define the legal agreements related to the creation and use of a work in all kinds of contexts – weddings, advertising campaigns, etc. Under these contracts, artists could be informed that a transaction has occurred and all those who have participated in the creation would receive the payment of the corresponding royalties each time the work is used.”[2]
The BLOCKCHAIN system also seeks to be useful in the world of patents, and debates have already been generated regarding what the role of this system would be, such is the case of a document prepared for Members and staff of the European Parliament, wherein the development and role played by BLOCKCHAINS is discussed.
As known, since patents are aimed to protect innovations, the document mentioned above initially approaches the problems that may arise when patent owners want to obtain this protection. Such is the case of cost issues, which cause some owners to choose to commercialize their patents without resorting to any protection. Another problem that may arise is the difference that occurs in the patent system in different countries, since there is no unified patent system in the Union.
In addition to the aforementioned, another problem is the so-called “patent trolls”, who according to the previous document, acquire patents and request compensation for damages for their infringement. Due to these problems, the document prepared has stated how BLOCKCHAIN can help in the improvement of these negative situations:
“Two characteristics of blockchain technology make it especially relevant to the patent system: ‘encryption’ (hashing) and ‘proof of existence’. The first, encryption, is a process by which a document is transformed into a fixed-length code that is described as a fingerprint or, more frequently, as a cryptographic summary (hash). All cryptographic summaries are unique and even minimal differences, such as the omission of an accent in a letter from a long document, would result in a radically different cryptographic summary. Only the repetition of the encryption process in an identical copy of the original document will produce the same cryptographic summary. Most importantly, it is impossible to regenerate a document from its cryptographic summary. The second feature, the proof of existence, involves the registration of these cryptographic summaries in the blockchain. In doing so, a record is created indicating that this cryptographic summary existed at a given time. The record can be verified by anyone, but no one can interpret the content of the cryptographic summary. However, the owners of the original document can demonstrate that the document existed at the time the transaction was made by repeating the encryption process in an identical copy of their original document (by using the same encryption algorithm to produce the same cryptographic summary it proves that they have the same original document). This presents the interesting possibility of publicly recording the fact that a document existed without revealing its content. It has been proposed that innovators use this process to protect their work by recording a cryptographic summary of their patent description (or, perhaps, a literary work or the extract of a computer code) in the blockchain. In fact, ‘proof of existence’ services are already available in the context of patent protection. In this case, they take advantage of the capabilities of larger existing blockchains, specifically Bitcoin, although a custom system could also be designed and applied for the registration of cryptographic summaries specifically for the purpose of 'proof of existence’.”[3]
As it has been demonstrated, the BLOCKCHAIN presents a series of advantages that can be beneficial in the field of Intellectual Property due to the security that this system presents, considering that it provides safe and stable records that are difficult to eliminate, allowing participation of different users that store updated copies of information and at the same time have control over the operations and information that are entered into this system. Likewise, the BLOCKCHAIN system is able to prevent malicious attacks and generate fewer expenses for people who use it.
[1] https://www.leftherian.com
[2] https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/es/2016/02/article_0002.html
[3] Como puede cambiar nuestra vida la tecnología de la cadena de bloques Servicio de Estudios del Parlamento Europeo Autor: Philip Boucher Unidad de Previsión Científica (STOA)
PE 581.948
Author: Evelyn Dueñas – IP Lawyer
Law firm: OMC Abogados & Consultores
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