IBM and IPwe platform to tokenise patents as NFTs

The IPwe intellectual property platform and tech giant IBM announced plans to issue patents as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

At some point, all the history of the #patent will sit on the #NFT – not just who owns it, but who licenses it, who is commercializing it, who is financing it — this info will be used by researchers, analysts, business and others to confirm value. https://t.co/hUIfdSpED9 https://t.co/NuUfxJbBMe

— Erich Spangenberg (@SpangenBlog) April 20, 2021

“Tokenisation of intellectual property (IP) will facilitate sale, trading, commercialisation or other monetisation of patents, and will bring liquidity to this asset class”, the press release said.

The NFTs will be stored and jointly accessed on the IPwe platform, hosted on IBM Cloud and operating on IBM Blockchain.

IPwe offers a patent ecosystem for participation in and execution of deals, purchases, licensing, financing, sale, research and commercialisation of patents, developed with IBM’s involvement.

The IPwe registry consolidates current, active and historical patent records into a single, freely accessible register with advanced search.

According to IPwe founder Erich Spangenberg, currently only about 2–5% of IP has been valued. He believes there is potential for a $1 trillion market if 10% of the existing patent market can be tokenised. NFTs could be the catalyst.

“Lack of transparency is a huge problem, regardless of who owns the patent or what it is about. It is very hard to implement. The use of non-fungible tokens will create entirely new ways of interacting with IP”, he explained.

Trials of the new platform version using NFTs are expected in the second quarter of this year, with the move to the commercial stage in the fourth quarter.

Bloomberg reported that in recent years IBM has faced difficulties monetising its patent portfolio. The collaboration with IPwe could advance progress in this regard, including the digitisation of its clients’ intellectual property, CNBC noted.

“A patent is unique by its nature, akin to a work of art”, said Jason Kelley, General Manager of IBM Blockchain Services.

Spangenberg urged not to view NFTs in this field solely as a buy-and-sell of patents. He explained that it is also a convenient way to verify ownership and insure property rights.

Tokenisation is broadly applicable to any function where there are \”people, processes and documents\”. It may not only apply to patents but also to property registries, land rights and minerals, he added.

“In the future, the entire history of a patent will take the form of an NFT. Not only about its owner, but also licensees, the entities involved in commercialization and financing. This data will be used by researchers, analysts and business to confirm value”, he explained.

Earlier in February, ForkLog reported on the winding down of IBM’s blockchain unit.

In March, ForkLog published a feature on NFT prospects, including in the field of intellectual property.

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