8.4 Intellectual property rights and providence
History of intellectual property rights
Intellectual property at present
Intellectual property of the future
Top challenges in the intellectual property rights industry
9.3 Better authentication and notarization in China
9.4 The trust layer for the internet
9.6 Blockchain oracles for IoT
9.8 Intellectual property rights
Smart cities of China - Hangzhou
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Singapore’s Smart Nation project
Singapore satellite cities in India
China’s Whole Country strategy
9.10 Financial capitals of the world
Exciting projects across the UK
9.12 BitLicense of New York City
9.13 Malta, the blockchain island of the EU
9.15 French blockchain efforts
10 Blockchain and the inhibitors
10.1 Blockchain vulnerabilities
Smart contract vulnerabilities
10.2 Community fractures and feuds
Identity theft and credit card fraud
1 Introduction to Blockchain Technology
Blockchain has become an omnipresent term that encompasses a social promise and a new technology. Originally proposed as a solution for Bitcoin’s cryptocurrency record keeping system, blockchains are now used to store the records of all types of applications.
Blockchain means something more in many people’s minds. The promise many associate with blockchain applications is that they will collapse all centralized systems. Centralized systems are everywhere people need to trust a counterparty and don’t have the resources themselves to do so independently.
An easy way to identify a place where blockchain technology may be applied is to look for areas where a middleman is needed to facilitate trust. Trust is essential for things such as the transfer of money, voting, land records, IP rights, and identity. Blockchain software can be programmed to take the place of the middleman by becoming the trusted record keeping system.
In this chapter, you will learn the basics of blockchain software. This includes the vital concepts that govern most blockchains, economic models, and network structures. It will help you lay a strong foundation for understanding how the technology works and what it is capable of doing.
1.1