MEDIUM – Blockchain & Intellectual Property – From Lab to Market

Geneva Blockchain Congress 2019

Blockchain technology is immutable, auditable, transparent and allows to reduce the number of intermediaries. Different types of data can be logged to a blockchain, from transaction information to photos, videos and design documents, therefore its use cases are numerous.

For the second edition of the Geneva Blockchain Congress held on the 20th January, on the thematic from Lab to Market, the subject of Illicit Trade & Counterfeiting was discussed by several actors during round tables and conferences. To that end, it is interesting to raise the solution that blockchain can bring to fight the infringement of Intellectual Property. One of the practical applications that was brought up during the Geneva Blockchain Congress was blockchain for intangible assets.

It has been noted that 84% of the value of the S&P 500 is made of intangible assets. However, alongside those which are officially registered (patents, trademarks), there are many other assets which are protected by intellectual property (copyright, trade secrets, designs) but which are not registered, or which are excluded from any intellectual property registration or protection (contracts, confidential information, etc.) even if other grounds for legal action exist.

For these unregistered intangible assets, which are the fastest growing ones, it is important to provide a fast, easy-to-use and cost effective solution to evidence their date of creation, ownership or communication to third parties. Use cases abound in the areas of research and development, open innovation, design, content production, education or legal technology, for innovative start-ups and SMEs, or large international companies that have to manage huge volumes of unregistered intangible assets.

The benefits of blockchain include evidence of anteriority, record keeping, control and monitoring of distribution, trading of rights, establishment of IP contracts. In fact, timestamped ledgers created by the blockchain cannot be changed retroactively, making it easier for owners to claim rights as it provides proof of creation, ownership and communication. Blockchain can also be used to secure digital identities, and to integrate with anticounterfeiting, notarization, legal action, licensing or financing services.

Wecan Protect, a blockchain platform to register your intangible assets.

This is what Wecan Protect offers. A platform that provides registration of intangible assets, based on an easy-to-use blockchain solution, with global and immutable validity. The solution was presented during the Geneva Blockchain Congress as a response to the lack of international and inexpensive solution to timestamp and evidence unregistered IP rights and intangible assets. The solution will be officially launched during the first semester 2020, getting out from the lab to go on the market.

Philippe Lucet & Camille Ernoult

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