Chinese blockchain protection over IPR solves infringement, IP theft and avoids the net benefit.

Moreover, writers who use an online pseudonym may well have difficulties proving authorship in future, with the accompanying risk that their work is considered to be an orphan work. Orphan works present significant difficulties, not just for their authors, but for any third parties who might be interested in buying those works. Since a time-stamped fingerprint on a Blockchain provides evidence of existence at a given time, this is where Blockchain potentially comes into play via official or private copyright registries. Time will tell whether private registry certificates will be accepted by the courts.

Registrations are also taking a serious look at Blockchain technology. Blockchain is being used to maintain registries of vehicle-ownership rights: the Danish Customs and Tax Administration, for example, is exploring the use of Blockchain to facilitate the registration and transfer of ownership of vehicles.”> When vehicles are sold, sellers must currently trust buyers to notify authorities about the change in ownership. Unscrupulous buyers who fail to re-register their vehicles expose sellers to liability for parking fines and speeding tickets, while avoiding paying tax. Blockchain provides a mechanism for the sellers’ transfer of ownership to be conducted securely and automatically, while allowing buyers to ascertain the authenticity of a vehicle and examine its history.

It is easy to imagine an analogous system being applied in the context of copyright: a Blockchain-powered copyright registry could record copyright transfers, reducing transaction costs and facilitating licensing. Three years ago, Toronto-based band 22HERTZ used Blockchain to record the copyright* in their music, stating that Blockchain was “more powerful than having a certificate with a title on it”* and enabled them “to save a lot of money and have absolute proof that your material existed at that time”*°, which is “much more concrete and substantial than the traditional way”*. Another commentator has proposed the use of Blockchain to record a “diligent search” (a requirement for permitted use of an orphan work) ® to overcome problems posed by the diligent search requirement.*’

Blockchain is also able to identify fake artwork, including photos, by providing evidentiary proof of infringement. In April of 2018, the Chinese search engine giant Baidu launched “Totem”*’, a Blockchain-based stock photo service.’! Totem allows copyright holders to upload photographs and uses Blockchain to timestamp each submitted work with the user’s identity and other data.’> With the help of artificial intelligence and big data, Totem then automatically compares images which are displayed on the Internet.> Once a possible infringement surfaces, the Totem system automatically preserves the infringing work and rapidly uploads it onto its Blockchain.™ The subsequent data comparison allows copyright holders to detect potential infringements and substantiate claims of verified ownership more easily.

In addition, Weibo, China’s leading social media platform, has announced that they have joined the Digital Copyright Identifier, a Blockchain-supported system created by the Copyright Protection Centre of China, > to better protect users’ copyright on its platform.®

It is noteworthy that even though China is taking a strict approach on crypto-currencies,”’ the Chinese Government, seems to support the use of Blockchain to protect copyright. The Cyberspace Administration of China, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Culture of China, for example, are all promoting Blockchain applications in copyright.*® Zhang Jiandong, director of the Digital Copyright Registration Department of CPCC, has pointed out that “Blockchain technology can record all the details of the works’ creation, dissemination, transaction, etc., forming a complete chain of evidence subject to public examination and verification, which can ensure a transparent and trustworthy ownership and authorship of the copyrighted work in the market.”>

Apart from being a potential asset in litigation, a Blockchain powered copyright registry could record copyright transfers, reduce transaction costs and facilitate licensing. Last year, a Spanish business built Voise ®, an anonymous, decentralized, music streaming and downloading platform powered by Blockchain. The platform aims to help independent artists monetize their work in a collaborative peer-to-peer marketplace.®' Further, in 2017, Spotify bought Blockchain start-up Mediachain to help them keep track of song owners and royalty payments to musicians and song publishers.> This year, a Taiwan-based start-up called Bitmark partnered with CTBC Bank and KKBOX.®® The intention is to make royalty payments faster and more transparent by using Bitmark’s Blockchain to record and fractionalize song rights for hundreds of high-profile Asian musicians.®*