What is Blockchain technology?
Blockchain Definition: Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a network. An asset can be tangible (a house, car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, branding).
The goal of blockchain is to allow digital information to be recorded and distributed, but not edited. In this way, a blockchain is the foundation for immutable ledgers, or records of transactions that cannot be altered, deleted, or destroyed.
How Copyright Works
Copyright Definition: A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form.
A copyright requires the recordation of three crucial information: the owners or authors of the copyright, the content or material to be copyrighted and a timestamp consisting of the date and time the copyright was created. The recordation of such information must be verified by an external authority acting as a witness agent and is usually the work of copyright offices, either country specific and backed by individual governmental authorities or international backed by independent authorities.
How Blockchain Changed The Copyright Process
Blockchain was first created in October 2008 and for the next decade has been constantly tested as the underlying decentralized technology that runs all cryptocurrencies. Today it is considered to be the proven technology that can be the bedrock of the worldwide record-keeping systems.
This inherent secure decentralized ledger qualities of the Blockchain make it the ideal platform to record copyright information and to offer so many benefits over more traditional copyright office services. Copyright registration processing times have fallen from an average of 3.6 months to literally 5 minutes while blockchain registrations are universally acknowledged by countries beyond the ones endorsing the Berne Convention.
While the International Copyright Organization is the leading global authority in blockchain copyright it continues to offer in parallel traditional copyright services acting as the independent witness agent and verification authority.