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An Internet judge in the Chinese province of Hangzhou decided to use the help of blockchain to defend intellectual property rights (IP). China.org.cn reported that the Internet court in Hangzhou will start using a blockchain platform to help writers in the region protect themselves from online piracy.
The Internet court in Hangzhou is one of three in China. Instead of using the regular judicial system, Chinese Chinese courts help people solve online legal issues. Piracy is a big problem for creators, but until now, creating a solid record of paternity has been a challenge.
According to the article published by China.org.cn, Hangzhou is, "Home of many, if not most, online writers in China". The news portal states that there are 107 famous online writers living in a community of writers in the Binjiang district of Hangzhou. The writers worked on ways to establish ownership on their work, but they remained with few solid options.
Blockchain Internet Copyright Law
Reportedly, many of the writers of Hangzhou print their articles or download the work as a means of establishing the moment of its creation. Both of these methods are relatively easy to counterfeit. Blockchain is an ideal technology to help creators maintain ownership of their work and could also help reduce the legal process involved in applying the intellectual property law.
According to Wang Jiangqiao, who is a judge at the Hangzhou Internet Court,
"Blockchain guarantees that data can not be tampered with (with) … all fingerprints stored in the judicial blockchain system … have legal effect" and that "paternity, creation time, content and evidence of infringement".
China has been a tough opponent of the criptos, but is making giant strides to use blockchain wherever possible. Unlike many other countries that are approaching the blockchain with caution, the Chinese courts have blessed the use of blockchain in numerous legal functions.
EPO reproduces the shot
Last week the European Patent Office held a conference on new technologies and the blockchain was on the agenda. The one-day event that was held in The Hague saw a discussion about how the blockchain could be used in the patenting process.
The president of the EPO António Campinos declared at the meeting that,
"The technologies of the fourth industrial revolution are gaining momentum – and everyone in IP has to contend with the technical developments that are driving this period of great changes – and to understand its impact," in his opening speech.
The president of the EPO also told the conference that, "Our test guidelines are constantly reviewed and adapted to ensure that these criteria are transparent and that our practice remains predictable, both for examiners and external stakeholders" as patent applications for blockchain technology are on the rise.
Time to get with the program
At the EPO conference there was no shortage of blockchain topics, and early speakers spoke about various aspects of the blockchain and how it could interface with other new technologies that were revealing themselves.
The meeting ended with these remarks by the Vice President of Operations of the EPO, Alberto Casado, "We are at the start of a revolution – Blockchain started in the financial sector – but his spread to all fields of industrial applications. It is growing in all fields. "
A mixed image for Blockchain development
In the last two years, the blockchain has moved from esoteric technology to a new political issue that is taken seriously at the highest levels of government. Cryptocurrencies have been the big loser on a global level, as many governments are hurling themselves against what they perceive as a threat to their monetary power.
Blockchain, on the other hand, is welcomed both by large companies and by the government. Once the underlying blockchain technology is separated from the decentralized currencies, it seems to be a very popular technology.
Blockchain has definitely passed the FinTech and could be part of the next big change in the way humans record data. How this capacity will be exploited, nobody will know, but we will not have to wait long to see the blockchain enter industries that had never heard of it a few years ago.
