Artificial intelligence (AI) has seen great development in the past five years in games, medicine, logistics, autonomous driving and personal assistance. Vision, speech recognition and generation, natural language processing (understanding and generation), image and video generation, multi-agent systems, planning and decision making have also seen a lot of progression.
During the same time frame, blockchain technology has also advanced. We have seen the rise of green blockchain networks, the rise of NFTs, and the adoption of blockchain applications among non-crypto companies.
HOW CAN AI AND BLOCKCHAIN BENEFIT THIS ADVANCEMENT?
AI is wonderfully suited to sifting through large amounts of data and producing results based on data that humans – or even a team of humans – would not be able to achieve at the same time.
For example, as trademark practitioners we already benefit from AI in case law research, tools for comparing goods and services, assessments of trademark similarity and word and image searches.
Unlike artificial intelligence, which appears to be being adopted by trademark offices and third-party service providers, blockchain appears to be less so.
We see some brand owners adopting blockchain technology to ensure the authenticity of their products and to assist customs and border controls in handling imported and exported goods. However, blockchain as a means of verifying transactions and tracking assets should also lend itself to use in commercial transactions, such as assignments, licenses, coexistence agreements and settlement agreements.
For example, blockchain and NFTs can be used in a situation where when an assignment document/deed is executed and confirmation of the consideration is paid, the registration of the assignment at the relevant IP office is automatically performed with the IP asset transferred immediately to the new owner.
Alternatively, in a situation where the parties have entered into a coexistence agreement and each party must undertake certain obligations (e.g. limitation of classification and subsequent withdrawal of an objection), it is conceivable that blockchain would be ideally suited to effectively and efficiently carry out these tasks by the implementation of the agreement, and make the process significantly more efficient.
Requests for proof of use are a significant burden for trademark owners. The use of blockchain in recording and storing evidence is another area where it is believed that the technology could be used in the future to verify the authenticity of purchase and sales volumes.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject. You should seek specialist advice about your specific circumstances.
