Mar 20, 2019 - This project explores how the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) might leverage blockchain technology to add value to copyright registration at the national level. It describes early proofs of concepts—such as British Columbia business registry—and concludes with a potential course for the future of copyright registration. Ce projet explore comment l'Office de la propriété intellectuelle du Canada (OPIC) pourrait tirer parti de la technologie de la blockchain pour ajouter de la valeur à l'enregistrement du droit d'auteur au niveau national. Il décrit les premières preuves de concepts - comme le registre des entreprises ...

Jun 18, 2019 - This case details the problems that need to be solved, specifically how photographers can maximize the value of their intellectual property. It explains how the KODAKOne platform works and walks through several use cases. It also discusses such non-technical obstacles as the different copyright laws across jurisdictions, costly legal processes, and different interpretations of legal concepts like as fair use and exhaustion. The case also describes how Kodak might reinvent its brand within the competitive digital image platform ecosystem.

Dec 18, 2018 - This case details one of the United Nations Develop Programme’s projects applying technological solutions to some of the humanitarian agency’s most pressing challenges. As a test case, the UNDP sponsored Blockscale Solutions to build a reliable land registry proof of concept in the state of Haryana, India, as a means of reducing bureaucratic corruption and expediting humanitarian aid in the aftermath of natural disasters. The case compares Haryana’s current system of land administration with the long-term benefits and obstacles to implementation of a blockchain-based system.

May 10, 2018 - In this research project, Joel Telpner gives us a guided tour of regulatory risk. Pulling lessons from regulating innovation in telecommunications and the financial markets, he focuses on the extent to which the blockchain represents unprecedented regulatory challenges. He advocates a level-headed approach to determining when regulation is necessary and, in such cases, the form that regulation should take, so as to minimize the unintended consequences. Using illustrations by the legendary political cartoonist John Tenniel and passages from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass: and What Alice Found There, Telpner gives executiv...

Jun 02, 2020 - Countries with universal background checks and gun registries experience significantly fewer gun-related deaths. As a highly encrypted, tamper-resistant, and decentralized database, distributed ledger technology has the potential to serve as a distributed registry of guns. DLT could allow gun buyers to prove a lack of a criminal record (the equivalent of a background check) without giving up personal information. This survey of the blockchain landscape highlights several start-ups such as VeriTransfer and BitRail that are experimenting with DLT to do for firearms provenance what other blockchain innovators have done with food, cannabis, and p...

Nov 17, 2018 - Rare is the case study that clearly lays out a plan of action for government officials serious about improving their services. Anthony Williams explores how blockchain can simplify and improve government efficiency in Canada by providing a single digital ledger for all accounts. He assesses the current general ledger system, compares it with best practices in Estonia, Sweden, and the United States, and proposes a blockchain-based solution. His analysis is not cheerleading; it is clear-headed. He lays out the relevant challenges and implementation costs including managing risk and connecting with existing policies and procedures. Canada has an...