The Role Of Blockchain In Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement

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INTRODUCTION

Blockchain technology, which was initially developed and created for the purposes of facilitating the smooth and effective operation and functioning of cryptocurrencies like the Bitcoin, has however been found to useful and applicable in many other areas and fields, one of the areas in which the advanced and innovative features of the blockchain technology is applicable is in the enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Intellectual property rights basically has to do with any thing that certifies and gives the creators and owners of the intellectual property the rights to how it is used it basically has to do with or in the form of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets, however, enforcing these rights has not always been easy or effective as a result of the advancement of the digital world we live in which gives rise to issues like piracy, counterfeiting, and the complexity of proving ownership.

Therefore in this post of mine I am going to discussing and exploring how the decentralized, immutable and transparent nature of the blockchain technology is going to take up the role of offering unique solutions to these challenges and facilitating the enforcement of intellectual property rights.

CREATING IMMUTABLE RECORDS OR PROOF OF OWNERSHIP

One of the primary and fundamental roles that the blockchain technology can play in addressing and enforcing intellectual property rights is basically by creating use the blockchain's immutable record keeping to create an immutable record that shows proof and certifies the ownership of a creators intellectual property.

By doing this, the blockchain technology can help facilitate the simplification of the process or means of attaining a secure, tamper proof and non perishable proof or certificate of ownership making the identification of intellectual rights owners very easy and as a result it will also be very easy to enjoy the benefits that is due them as owners of intellectual properties.

Basically, this immutable record keeping is particularly valuable and useful in cases when disputes arises and the ownership of an idea or intellectual property, design, or work is questioned if the true owner had initially registered or created proof of his ownership on the blockchain network then he can come out of the dispute victorious.

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ENHANCING DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT

Another way in which the blockchain technology can ensure the enforcement of intellectual property rights is basically by enhancing digital rights management, the traditional digital rights management was not quite effectively playing its role but by implementing the blockchain technology the digital rights management can be revolutionized.

Additionally, implementing the blockchain technology will allow owners of intellectual property and content creators to create digital tokens and then represent their work, with smart contracts which facilitates the effective and proper governing of how their contents and intellectual assets will be distributed and accessed by consumers.

Additionally, the enhanced and improved digital rights management which employs smart contracts will automatically ensure that content creators and owners receives their royalties whenever their content is streamed or downloaded this method of operation basically helps to protect the rights of content creators and basically reduces costs and increasing the efficiency of the management of digital rights.

SIMPLIFYING LICENSE PROCESSING

Another role in which the blockchain technology plays in ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights basically involves and has to do with simplifying the processes involved in licensing intellectual properties, all the delays and complexities resulting from the need of multiple intermediaries and legal entities for signing the licensing agreement can all be addressed with the blockchain technology.

How the blockchain does this is by basically implementing and enabling the use of smart contracts to automate and streamline the process seeing as smart contracts operates by having terms of an agreement written or prestated into its code and once these terms are met, the smart contract automatically enforce the terms which in this case will be the licensing agreement.

Therefore by automating processes such as payments, usage rights, and subscription expiration dates, basically eliminates the need for intermediaries, reduces the administrative burden on both the party handing out the license and the one receiving the license and as a result ensuring greater transparency and trust in the licensing process

ENHANCING TRANSPARENCY OF IP TRANSACTIONS

The last role which I will be discussing today which the blockchain technology plays in ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights is basically by ensuring and enhancing the transparency of transactions involving the intellectual properties of owners as a result making it significantly easier to enforce and ensure the protection of intellectual property rights.

Additionally, the blockchain technology can offer and provide its decentralized and immutable ledger which ultimately facilitates the provision of a comprehensive and publicly accessible record of all transactions involving a content or intellectual property of a particular creator or owner, making sure that all parties involved are aware of the ownership history, licensing agreements, of contents and any restrictions regarding its use.

Increasing the transparency of intellectual property transactions basically helps and significantly leads to the reduction of the risk of fraudulent transactions, where by rights are sold or licensed without the knowledge or consent of the rightful owner.

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CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I would like to say a very big thank to everyone who made the effort to read and go through this post which I have made, and I hope that you have been able to learn something new as I have fully explained and discussed the key significant role in which the blockchain technology can play in ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights.