Blockchain-focused IP App to reduce patenting barriers in emerging market

A blockchain-based intellectual property (IP) platform, has announced plans to empower and protect inventors and entrepreneurs in emerging markets.

It is reputed to have access to more than 1.5 million devices in 105 countries, plus another 29 million that are under contract, Spire (SPI), the token that powers UpChannel’s mobile App, marketplace and Android hardware wallet, and Loci (LOCI).
 
LOCI uses its easy-to-use search to help inventors determine if their invention is novel and patentable.

Loci combines its powerful search platform with a blockchain dedicated to intellectual property innovations to allow inventors to disclose patentable inventions or post abstracts. This allows them to validate an innovation before going through the expensive process of patenting and development process.
 
Head of Technology at Spire, Charlie Hulcher, however said: “Sadly, theft is rampant in emerging markets. And the targets aren’t just cash; they’re ideas, which can be even more valuable, especially to global corporations.
  
“By cultivating and simplifying the invention process for inventors and entrepreneurs through the Loci blockchain based platform, Spire can help drive the upward economic mobility of people in these markets.”
  
Through LOCI search, inventors can also mark their proof of concept with a specific date and time that is stored on the blockchain.

This mark constitutes a public disclosure and grants the inventor a 12-month grace period by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the filing of a patent application.

From there, the inventor can file a patent on the disclosure or make it available to be sold in Loci’s IP marketplace.