Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI)
Discover how blockchain technology can combat counterfeiting and what other opportunities it opens up in the field of intellectual property (IP).
Why conduct a study on blockchain? Because it makes sense!
Three reasons for our joint blockchain project with Singapore
Where blockchain and IP meet in Switzerland
A survey conducted in Switzerland and Singapore shows that the same blockchain use cases are seen as promising in both countries. Here’s a look at the top three use cases and some Swiss examples.
Figure 1: The use cases of blockchain that offer the greatest benefit to the IP sector according to the survey.
The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) initiated a project on IP and blockchain with Singapore. The main components of the project are two country studies that use interviews and surveys to determine where blockchain is most likely to be used. A joint brochure shows the similarities and differences in the results from Switzerland and Singapore.
Figure 1 shows the survey results in Singapore and Switzerland. This section presents the three most promising areas of application.
Image 1: Aura provides track and trace with blockchains.
Track and Trace
With track and trace, companies can record every production step, the entire transportation route and every resale of a product. This data is stored in a blockchain in which the entries cannot be deleted or changed.
Companies can make this information available to their customers. For example, if you buy a watch, you can check whether the watch is registered in the blockchain to avoid buying a counterfeit.
In the luxury goods sector, Aura combines the properties of blockchain with a high-resolution microscope. Detailed images of a luxury product, such as a watch, are stored on a blockchain. The product can be scanned again to check its authenticity. The system compares the images and determines how likely it is to be an original.
Once this method has been fully developed, it will deliver more reliable results than approaches that do not check the authenticity based on the product itself, but based on external documents or packaging codes.
Quote 1: IPI publications: ‘DLT and the Intellectual Property Ecosystem of Switzerland’
Evidence of Generation
Sometimes it’s necessary to prove the exact point in time when an asset was created. ‘Evidence of generation’ means that a file is given a time stamp that indicates when and where the file was uploaded to the blockchain. If this file contains information on innovative progress, such a time stamp can serve as evidence that the technology already existed before a patent application was filed by the competition.
There are different types of time stamps, but blockchain-based ones are particularly fast and tamper-proof, and they work without intermediaries.
OriginStamp offers blockchain-based time stamps that confirm the existence and integrity of documents at a specific point in time. Documents are uploaded to OriginStamp and labelled with the exact date and time of creation. These time-stamped files are anchored in a blockchain and are therefore protected against subsequent changes because information that has been added to a blockchain cannot be deleted.
Image 2: The EUIPO’s design and trade mark registers are based on blockchain.
IP-Register
As many countries have national IP registers, entries for the same IP assets can be found in multiple countries. This means that people often have to work with different national IP registers or databases to find information, which is inefficient.
Blockchain technology could remove this inefficiency, enable faster transfer of information and improve the accuracy of IP information by serving as a centralised source of information. For this to work, cooperation is needed between national IP authorities to develop shared IP registers.
Since 2021, the trade mark and design search services of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), TMView and DesignView, have been based on blockchain. The services display changes in the status of IP entries over time. Both services are constantly being expanded. For example, since December 2023, users have been able to download time-stamped IP right certificates directly from the blockchain. There are also plans to expand the platform to include an IP wallet service. This will make it easier to identify IP rights holders, and it will also be easier for them to manage their IP portfolio.
The EUIPO is also working on a blockchain to combat counterfeiting more effectively. The aim of this blockchain is to help verify the authenticity of products.
The way forward
The use cases listed above show that blockchain has great potential for use in the IP sector. However, there is still more work to be done before this technology can be widely used.
Image 3: Recommendations from the brochure ‘Switzerland & Singapore’s Emerging IP-DLT Revolution: An Introduction’.
Blockchain is currently in the early stages of development. Therefore, there are still some uncertainties and misconceptions surrounding this technology.
The surveys show that scepticism towards blockchain is high. According to the studies, it’s important to explain that blockchain is not always synonymous with cryptocurrency and thus not every area of application is associated with high risks. IP stakeholders also need to be better informed about the often criticised high energy consumption of the technology. Changes to the design of the blockchain can massively reduce this.
It’s not only important to educate the IP world about blockchain, but also to inform blockchain experts about IP. Boosting understanding of each other’s fields is crucial in order to address misconceptions and to find new use cases.
The studies from Switzerland and Singapore show that the uncertain legal framework poses a major challenge. For example, the legal status of evidence is a key concern for companies using blockchain, as time stamps and other blockchain-based evidence are not recognised everywhere.
Before the authorities adapt the legal framework to enable the use of blockchain, understanding of the technology needs to increase. This would make it easier to identify any necessary changes.
If misconceptions about blockchain are dispelled and legal and technological uncertainties are clarified, it’s quite possible that we’ll encounter blockchain more and more in our everyday lives in the future.
Whether you’ll be able to use blockchain to verify that your next exquisite watch is an original remains to be seen.
One thing is clear: it’s worth moving with the times and keeping an eye on the potential of blockchain for customers, companies and the IPI.
Want to know more?
Studies and a brochure on IP and blockchain