New pending patent applications are published by the USPTO on Thursdays. We continue with the theme of blockchain (distributed ledger, smart contracts) and digital rights management broadly construed. Assigned to Sony, the first application discloses techniques for blockchain-based digital rights management. Assigned to Bank of America, the second application discloses a distributed ledger system for providing aggregate tracking and threshold triggering.
20180115416, "Blockchain-based digital rights management," assigned to Sony (JP).
Abstract
Generating a rights blockchain storing rights of a user, including: receiving an enrollment request and a public key from the user; verifying that the user has a private key corresponding to the public key; generating a user identifier using the public key; and generating and delivering the rights blockchain having a genesis block including the user identifier to the user.
20180114205, "Distributed ledger system for providing aggregate tracking and threshold triggering," assigned Bank of America.
Abstract
Embodiments provide a system operatively connected with a block chain distributed network and for using the network for providing aggregate tracking and threshold triggering. Embodiments receive, at a node of a blockchain distributed network, an interaction record associated with an interaction between a payor entity and a payee entity. The system accesses and updates a distributed ledger based on communications from the block chain and determines, from the distributed ledger, a net position between the entity and a third party. If the entity is the payor entity and the third party is the payee entity, the system debits the net position in the amount of the interaction; however, if the entity is the payee entity and the third party is the payor entity, the system credits the net position in the amount of the interaction. The system then updates and records an updated net position on the distributed ledger.
