Blockchain As A Content Distribution Technology: Copyright Issues Abound

Content owners and their attorneys have been enthusiastically anticipating the use of blockchain as a mechanism for royalty accounting, recording the chain of title of intellectual property interests, and protecting, tracking and administering IP.

The enthusiasm is a little less vigorous, however, when the topic turns to the use of blockchain as a vehicle for content distribution. Some of those discussions are still appealing to content owners and their counsel as they focus on the use of blockchain as a means of effectuating a decentralized digital rights management-type system to allow distribution of content to authorized users in a secure way. Copyright anxiety arises, however, with the recognition that the technology can also be used to facilitate the distribution of infringing content, notably in the form of anonymous transactions that are embodied in a block in a permanent and immutable manner.