Distributed ledger technologies gain support

During the 2017 DC Blockchain Summit, held March 15 to 16, the Chamber of Digital Commerce celebrated the launch of the Blockchain Intellectual Property Council (BIPC). The new council's purpose is "to promote innovation in blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) by addressing intellectual property issues." The council will help balance the protection of proprietary information with the openness necessary for innovation, the chamber added.

The BIPC has three co-chairs: Marc Kaufman, Partner at Rimon Law; Patrick Murck, Special Counsel, Cooley & Fellow at Berkman Klein Center at Harvard; and James Murdock, Chief Business Officer and General Counsel at Blockstream.

"I am honored to help shape one of the most important discussions for the blockchain community," Kaufman said. "Many players are aggressively pursuing patents in the DLT space, and managing patent risk must be a shared priority."

"Balancing the open source mindset with proprietary technology is an early and critical challenge faced by the blockchain community," Murck stated. "An effective solution must be constructed with input from experts in both law and technology ‒ with an eye to preserving opportunities for permissionless innovation."

"Openness and collaboration are crucial to ensuring that permissionless innovation both thrives and evolves," Murdock said. "Preserving these elements as the industry develops will be key to the success of the blockchain ecosystem."

The Washington, D.C.-based Chamber of Digital Commerce promotes the understanding, acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain technology. "Through education, advocacy, and working closely with policymakers, regulatory agencies, and industry, our goal is to develop a pro-growth legal environment that fosters innovation, jobs and investment, "the council stated. In addition to establishing the new BIPC, the chamber previously founded the Smart Contracts Alliance, the Blockchain Alliance, the Global Blockchain Forum and other key industry initiatives.

"Developing an industry-led defensive patent strategy is paramount to help protect innovation and drive wide adoption of blockchain-enabled technologies," said Perianne Boring, founder and President of the chamber.

The BIPC co-chairs participated in an IP panel at the DC Blockchain Summit and will hold their first official meeting on March 30. Academics, blockchain technologists, financial institutions, IP experts, open source communities and others interested in intellectual property issues are encouraged to participate. For further details contact dan@digitalchamber.org .

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