In this article, five industry leaders, including CEOs and co-founders, share their insights on how smart contracts are protecting intellectual property rights in the digital space. From harnessing NFTs to verifying digital watermarks, discover the innovative ways these experts are safeguarding creators and artists’ work.
- Harnessing NFTs
- Automating Royalty Payments for Musicians
- Enforcing Licensing Terms
- Authenticating Digital Content Creation
- Verifying Digital Watermarks
Harnessing NFTs
NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are a type of digital asset that can represent ownership of unique items, such as art, music, or videos. They can be stored on a blockchain, which is a secure and transparent ledger that records transactions. This makes it possible to track the ownership of an NFT and ensure that it is not counterfeited.
Smart contracts are self-executing contracts stored on a blockchain. They can be used to automate the transfer of intellectual property rights. For example, a smart contract could be used to automatically transfer the copyright of a song to the buyer once the song has been sold.
Blockchain-based licensing platforms allow creators and artists to sell and manage their intellectual property rights in a secure and transparent way. These platforms can track the use of intellectual property rights and ensure that creators are compensated for their work.
CEO, Twibi
Automating Royalty Payments for Musicians
Certainly, smart contracts are being utilized to safeguard intellectual property rights in the digital realm. For instance, musicians can use smart contracts to automate royalty payments and ensure fair compensation for their work on digital platforms.
Once the terms are coded into the contract, it automatically executes payments to the artist whenever their music is streamed or downloaded, reducing the need for intermediaries and enhancing transparency. This technology empowers creators by providing them with greater control and security over their intellectual property rights while streamlining the distribution of earnings.
Founder and CEO, United Medical Education
Enforcing Licensing Terms
Smart contracts are revolutionizing intellectual-property protection for digital creators. Consider a musician releasing their album on a blockchain platform. Through a smart contract, every time their music is purchased or streamed, royalties are automatically distributed to them and their collaborators.
This eliminates intermediaries, ensuring fair compensation and immediate access to earnings. Additionally, the smart contract can enforce licensing terms, preventing unauthorized usage and piracy.
This example showcases how smart contracts empower creators by automating payments and safeguarding their rights in the digital realm, fostering a transparent and equitable ecosystem for artists and creators.
CEO, Know Mastery
Authenticating Digital Content Creation
Smart contracts can be used to timestamp and authenticate the creation of digital content, providing a verifiable proof of intellectual property rights.
By recording the date and time of creation on an immutable blockchain, creators and artists can protect their work. For example, an artist creates a digital artwork and timestamps it using a smart contract. The contract records the artwork’s details and the timestamp on a blockchain.
In case of a dispute, the artist can provide the blockchain record as evidence of their ownership and the creation’s originality, thereby strengthening their intellectual property rights.
Co-Founder, Secret Florists
Verifying Digital Watermarks
Smart contracts can verify the integrity of digital watermarks embedded in creative works. By utilizing cryptographic techniques, the contract can ensure that the watermark remains intact and unaltered, further protecting the intellectual property rights of creators and artists.
For example, a photographer can embed a unique digital watermark within their images. They can then deploy a smart contract, verifying the presence and integrity of the watermark whenever the image is accessed or used. If the watermark is found to be tampered with or removed, the contract can trigger relevant actions to enforce copyright protection.
Co-Founder, 28 Mortgage
