LOCI, the company known as the first to integrate IP staking on blockchain, is currently developing a registry that will consist of open-source patents, an expansion to its existing search functionality and suite of products that currently allows inventors to conduct research and analysis of their ideas for pennies on the dollar.
LOCI, the company known as the first to integrate IP staking on blockchain, is currently developing a registry that will consist of open-source patents, an expansion to its existing search functionality and suite of products that currently allows inventors to conduct research and analysis of their ideas for pennies on the dollar. With LOCI’s recent release this past January that allows inventors to complete a provisional patent without leaving its platform, the ability for its search functionality to also provide data on open-source patents becomes ever more relevant and useful. This is being developed at the height of a trade war fueled in part by Chinese infringement on poorly structured US intellectual property laws, paired with an awakening of enterprise to the benefits of decentralizing intellectual property rights and allowing for the public use of open-source patents.
It’s no secret that the patent system is fundamentally flawed by providing extensive bureaucratic backlog, red tape, and financial hurdles at every turn for inventors seeking to patent and ultimately monetize their ideas. Over the last few years, this struggle has been championed by some of the most major tech giants in the space like Tesla in 2014 and Microsoft in Q2 of 2018. Scott Guthrie, Microsoft’s EVP of the cloud explained in an interview that Microsoft has gone through a fundamental change over the past few years as it made its decision to create the Open Innovation Network and share its entire IP portfolio with the world because they “recognized open-source software code was something that every developer could benefit from and that it wasn’t just a nice thing to provide, rather a complete necessity.” Guthrie purported, “It’s not just code, it’s community.”
LOCI couldn’t agree more with this sentiment. To that end, its system will soon provide completely free access to the world’s first registry of open-source patents. Not only is there an advantage for users of the platform to have this information all in one place, but it will also provide users with an idea of which of these patents are highly licensable with an upcoming premium listing service (similar to Google’s AdWords). Rich Andersen, Microsoft’s Corporate VP and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, recognized the inherent value added to innovation by opening up Microsoft’s portfolio to the public, “[developers] want to deploy technologies at the edge -- on any device -- that meet customer needs. We also learned that collaborative development through open-source process can accelerate innovation.”
With a registry of the magnitude LOCI is building, it is aiming to support this exact goal of accelerating global innovation, and in fact, these exact words are reflected in LOCI’s mission. Allowing regular people access to a free database of open-source patents not only helps the ‘little guy’ bring his or her idea to reality and ultimately to monetization, it contributes to the larger growing gig economy where individuals will have the power to profit from their own drive and intellectual merit.
And the benefits don’t just end there for the average person hoping to profit from their ideas. Besides participating in a budding gig economy based on ideas being shared, transferred, sold and/or licensed, an immense amount of resources all around will be used more efficiently because the risk of litigation for individuals and enterprise decreases dramatically. Even Elon Musk attested to the waste attributed to litigation in the intellectual property space in his 2014 blog post announcing Tesla was providing all of their patents as open-sourced, “[patents] merely serve to stifle progress, entrench the positions of giant corporations and enrich those in the legal profession, rather than the actual inventors.” Musk also recognized that by moving to a model where Tesla’s patents were open, it would not only lead to better production of electric cars for Tesla or other companies, but that the world would benefit from this “rapidly-evolving technology platform” and this would help to “accelerate the global fight against carbon emissions.”
Interested in participating in this growing open-source movement?
To learn more about LOCI, visit LOCI.IO. To begin using the live LOCI products, visit APP.LOCI.IO to create an account. If you have an open-source patent or a patent that you don’t intend on using or monetizing reach out to openregistry@loci.io. If you are interested in seeing what other options exist for your intellectual property, reach out to LOCI for a consultation.
More about LOCI
LOCI’s mission is to accelerate global innovation by helping aspiring inventors to Search, Analyze, Protect and Monetize their ideas. To further understand the landscape of IP and learn more about LOCI, visit: https://loci.io
Media Contact:
Lauren Arévalo
LOCI
585-705-3382