February 15, 2022
Back

Blockchain and IP Law—A Match Made in Heaven? | The Legal Intelligencer - Law.com

Aleksandra Tulacz(L) and Nicole Galli (R) of ND Galli Law. Courtesy photos
Aleksandra Tulacz (L) and Nicole Galli (R) of ND Galli Law. Courtesy photos

Despite reading the occasional article (or headline), how much do any of us know about blockchain, cryptocurrency and their potential uses and implications? What exactly are nonfungible tokens or NFTs, which seem to be getting a lot of press? We too wondered about these questions. As an intellectual property (IP) lawyer and a law student who focuses on IP in law school, we were also specifically interested in examining the intersection between blockchain, or more specifically, cryptocurrency and NFTs, and IP. Thus, in this article, we will explore the basics of blockchain and common uses of it such as cryptocurrency and NFTs, how these intangible assets can be protected by IP laws, and, perhaps most interesting, how blockchain is being used to enhance IP protection generally.

Starting with some basics, it is useful to think about blockchain, cryptocurrency and uses such as NFTs as part of a pyramid. The pyramid’s base is blockchain technology. Blockchains are blocks of stored information, which, when filled, are linked together to form a chain of electronic data. These chains are referred to as distributed ledger technology (DLTs). Once information is stored in the DLTs, it cannot be altered, deleted, nor destroyed easily and becomes a virtually impenetrable ledger that is useful against hackers. Because data is held in the blockchain throughout several network nodes located in multiple locations, it is difficult to hack, enabling the data’s integrity to remain intact. Thus, if a hacker changes only one node, the change is overridden by the other nodes. Hackers must change at least 51% of the blockchain’s nodes to inflict damage—a difficult task to accomplish (although not impossible). Blockchain can be used for many purposes, but the most common is cryptocurrency.

Want to continue reading?
Become an ALM Digital Reader for Free!

Benefits of a Digital Membership

  • Free access to 1 article* every 30 days
  • Access to the entire ALM network of websites
  • Unlimited access to the ALM suite of newsletters
  • Build custom alerts on any search topic of your choosing
  • Search by a wide range of topics

Already have an account? Sign In Now

*May exclude premium content



source: https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/2022/02/15/blockchain-and-ip-law-a-match-made-in-heaven/

Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.