Enabling Patent Transactions Through the Use of Blockchain Technology

Abstract

Access to complete, accessible, up-to-date, and accurate patent information is a prerequisite for transacting patents efficiently. Whereas patent registers administered by patent offices aim to communicate patent information to the public, they face limitations in the era of rapid innovation, partially due to manual input and verification of data. In this paper, we argue that integrating blockchain technology into patent registers could assist in remedying certain limitations of conventional ‘reference’ registers by combating territorial fragmentation, improving patent ownership tracing, and increasing the visibility of patents that could be traded. We further investigate to what extent blockchains are conducive to enabling patent transactions and explore the possibility of transforming patent registers into patent marketplaces.