The research shows that blockchain has some very important advantages when it comes to handling intellectual property rights and licenses.
A professor from Texas A&M University School of Law did some research about how blockchain can be useful in managing things like copyrights. They found that blockchain could change the way we handle intellectual property both within one country and between different countries.
Dr. Peter Yu, who works at the Texas A&M University School of Law and is an expert in law and communication, wrote a paper about this. He thinks that blockchain’s ability to keep records safe and unchangeable makes it a great fit for managing intellectual property
per the paper:
“On a blockchain, when a transaction is written, it’s extremely hard to change it later. If there’s a mistake, you have to add a new transaction to fix it. This unchangeable feature makes blockchain great for things like copyright registration, keeping records of who owns what, and managing licenses.”
Dr. Yu also says that in the copyright system, blockchain can help people check the status of a record, like if a copyright is now in the public domain or has no clear owner.
The research also mentions other advantages, like the ability to trace the history of records, make everything clear and open, and reduce the need for middlemen.
In the paper, “traceability” means being able to track the entire history of a copyright record from the very beginning. If this information is accessible to the public through a blockchain explorer or similar tool, it adds an extra layer of transparency that you don’t get with traditional record-keeping on servers.
The last benefit mentioned in Dr. Yu’s paper is “disintermediation,” which means that blockchain can work without relying on a central authority. In other words, it doesn’t need a government, a bank, or a clearinghouse to function. According to the paper, this technology allows for global cooperation even if governments or international organizations don’t get involved.
Dr. Yu thinks that these advantages could lead to a system where artists and businesses can manage their intellectual property without relying on the government, essentially creating an independent copyright system.