The two giants develop a blockchain copyright solution to a manage it in an innovative and efficient way
EY and Microsoft develop a blockchain copyright solution: Leggi qui l’articolo in Italiano
EY, better known as Ernst & Young, announced that it has partnered with Microsoft to develop a blockchain-based copyright and royalty management solution.
The aim is to make it applicable to any sector where intellectual property or goods are licensed, with an initial specific focus on games where it should ensure short processing times and rapid monitoring of copyright.
The problem of copyright protection is well known, but the solutions adopted so far cannot be described as exhaustive.
First and foremost, Microsoft has long fought a real battle against the violation of the rights and licenses of their software.
Another critical issue is the possible calculation and distribution of licensing royalties, especially in those areas where it is particularly difficult to carry out “ex-post” controls.
Blockchain, given its peculiar characteristics, could perhaps solve these problems. This is what Microsoft and EY are hoping for, they developed the technical solution and are launching it on the market.
The value chain of this sector includes a large number of actors including, for example, authors, production companies, developers, distribution chains, and many others.
Intellectual property also generates millions of transactions on the market, and billions of dollars in royalties to be paid each month.
Calculations of these royalties are usually made manually and offline, thus remaining unknown even to those directly concerned.
Instead, the new solution is designed to allow for greater transparency, significantly reduce the inefficiency of current processes and also eliminate the need for costly manual reconciliations in the event of complaints.
The solution provides near real-time visibility into license sales transactions. The computing architecture is based on smart contracts, it is designed to allow accurate and real-time calculation of royalties, and it is based on the Quorum blockchain protocol and cloud infrastructure of Microsoft’s Azure.
One of the world’s leading game manufacturers and retailers, Microsoft’s partner Ubisoft, is already testing the solution. Loic Amans, Senior Vice President of Ubisoft, said:
“We are always looking at how to leverage emerging technologies in all facets of our business. The opportunity to collaborate with EY and Microsoft on blockchain use cases in the domain of digital contracts and royalties is truly exciting.”