Verizon Communications, the largest telecommunications firm, has announced that it has filed a blockchain patent for its digital media rights following three years of investigative research.
According to reports by Business Insider, the US patent was filed for a passcode blockchain that Verizon has been apparently working for three years. The passcode blockchain would store a sequence of passcodes related to users of digital content.
"The DRM (digital rights management) system may maintain a list of passcodes in a passcode blockchain. The passcode blockchain may store a sequence of passcodes associated with the particular digital content and may indicate a currently valid passcode,” an excerpt from the filing stated as reported by Business Insider.
In case of blockchain of digital rights for consumer products, it would ensure that writers, authors or artists receive immediate payment when a consumer reads an article or listens to a song. The funds would be proportionately distributed as per contractual clauses.
The idea focuses on giving rights to users to access digital content as part of a subscription such as assuring customers do not engage in fraud or manipulate contracts. Business insider also reported that smart contracts would allow fair distribution of royalty payments.
“If access rights for a particular digital content are associated with a rental period, or a subscription period, users may continue to transfer the rights to other users during the rental period," the patent mentioned.
