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Blockchain And Smart Contracts: The Missing Link In Copyright Licensing?, Balazs Bodo, Daniel Gervais, Joao Pedro Quintais
Blockchain And Smart Contracts: The Missing Link In Copyright Licensing?, Balazs Bodo, Daniel Gervais, Joao Pedro Quintais
Daniel J Gervais
This article offers a normative analysis of key blockchain technology concepts from the
perspective of copyright law. Some features of blockchain technologies—scarcity, trust,
transparency, decentralized public records and smart contracts—seem to make this
technology compatible with the fundamentals of copyright. Authors can publish works
on blockchain creating a quasi-immutable record of initial ownership, and encode
‘smart’ contracts to license the use of works. Remuneration may happen on online distribution
platforms where the smart contracts reside. In theory, such an automated
setup allows for the private ordering of copyright. Blockchain technology, like Digital
Rights Management 20 years ago, is thus presented …