Blockchain: Copyright Traction

Blockchain or decentralized ledger technology (DLT) as innovation is getting its due business traction. Many visionaries have identified and recognized the trend, and have begun to take actions to capitalize on it. In the climate of change, many tech giants and businesses form strategic partnerships, capturing and delivering new values eg enhancing supply chain management.

As a legal professional who values creativity, I believe there is a market need for a new and simple blockchain or DLT-backed project that enables copyright authors or owners to capture value in the digital economy directly. Such a possible project should deliver values in three areas:

(1) deposit of digitized contents, and the claims and proofs of copyright authorship and ownership;

(2) peer-to-peer self-executing smart contracts, transacting copyright works ie their licensing and assignment; and,

(3) internal transfer of financial value, such as deposits or withdrawals from users' accounts, and the delivery of digital currency from one digital user to another.

As to (1), I am using one such existing blockchain or DLT-backed free copyright depositary. As to (2), I think the buy-in among copyright authors and owners should be easy as no such business model exist yet, but some copyright users who are used to infringe would have to obey the law and to respect creativity. As to (3), I would accept Bitcoin or any virtual currency of value.

Depending on leadership and vision, such a possible special but worldwide project can be a public or private one, as "blockchain + intellectual property" have economic, social and political implications. While technology enthusiasts, through public commissioning or out of their own private business initiative, can provide the tools like hardware, software and connectivity, I can contribute in standard setting on general legal and governance matters in addition to intellectual property. To invest in our future, both the public and private sectors have to collaborate timely to shape the 21st C web business!