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Prior studies have already predicted that enforcement of IP on the additive manufacturing industry will not be successful due to the widespread use of file-sharing technologies, similar to the entertainment and music industry. This paper discusses the capabilities of Blockchain technology for protecting IP in the design and manufacturing area. A conceptual framework for a digital platform is defined in this paper and further, a survey study of engineering design and manufacturing students has been conducted to identify the main motivation behind developing these platforms and the types of features that should be included in Blockchain-based IP platforms for asset protection, particularly for product design. In addition, respondents provided their opinions about the type of industry that might be affected more by the threat of counterfeiting products and the role of Blockchain-based IP systems on the growth and development of innovation.
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Platforms, blockchains and the challenges of decentralization
Abstract This commentary explores the feasibility of blockchain technologies (and cryptocurrencies) in contesting the power of centralized, corporate platforms. While proponents of blockchain and cryptocurrencies regularly proclaim their power to decentralize and counter corporate power, I am much more constrained in my assessment and note the significant challenges facing open blockchain approaches in competing with platforms. From this, I highlight three key areas in which blockchains may complicate platform operations, albeit in indeterminate ways. These include (i) closed, state-based blockchain systems focused on making back-office processes more efficient, (ii) the use of cryptocurrencies for platform-based transactions and (iii) providing digital objects with an element of “uniqueness” that makes them tradable in new ways. In the end, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are technologies like any others, providing affordances for some kinds of action over others but ultimately their embeddedness in practice and space shapes how they impact the organization and geography of economies, societies and regions.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1853718
- PAR ID:
- 10410765
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
- Volume:
- 16
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 1752-1378
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 367-372
- Size(s):
- p. 367-372
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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