US vs China: the race to patent blockchain
Sensationalised headlines urging people to “Invest in Bitcoin to get rich quick!” made Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies notorious, and the volatility of Bitcoin’s value might make the blockchain technology it is built on seem unstable or overhyped.
However, the application of blockchain extends far beyond fintech. For example, patent applications in legaltech include blockchain-enabled smart contracts and, in global supply chains, blockchain can be used to track and authenticate goods.
This is thanks to the added security afforded by blockchain technology, which essentially creates a traceable and public digital trail of transactions, speeding up information delivery and authentication processes.
Simply put, the compound word “blockchain” encapsulates digital information “blocks” that are stored and connected in a public network “chain”. The growing global interest and investment in this technology area are evident in the increasing patenting activity surrounding blockchain, which can be seen on a global patent database such as PatBase.
PatBase’s intuitive online interface makes it seamless to search, review, analyse and share patent data. The platform handles broad and narrow search queries with ease and can load an unlimited number of records into the integrated PatBase Analytics V3 instantly.
PatBase Analytics enables users to create graphical analyses of high-quality patent data to derive intelligence that can be obtained only by studying patenting activity. This article will share a few of the charts generated on PatBase and demonstrate how you can easily draw innovation and research and development insights from this data.
The patent race
Ant Group—previously known as Ant Financial (the fintech subsidiary of Alibaba)—and Chinese shipping giant COSCO have entered a blockchain-logistics partnership rivalling the partnership between US technology company IBM and Danish shipping company Maersk.
IBM has invested heavily in developing enterprise blockchain solutions on its cloud services and Maersk is the largest freight company in the world. COSCO, meanwhile, is the third-largest freight company in the world. Alibaba, predominantly an e-commerce company, is often quoted as the largest blockchain patent owner worldwide.
The formation of these strategic partnerships indicates that there is direct competition to use blockchain technology to radically disrupt logistics management processes. The race is on for these teams to see which solution can be implemented first to keep pace with the increasing global demands to digitise and disrupt the shipping and logistics industry.
