DIGITAL SME Task Force Blockchain & DLT organised with the support of IPwe, a webinar on 2 July, 11.00 – 12.00 CEST, to explain why and how patent Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have the potential to turn patents into a new asset class.

Blockchain applications have been front-page news thanks to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin, and now digital tokenised assets, such as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). A few months ago, Christie’s became the first major auction house to sell a fully digital, NFT-based artwork, which sold for over $69.3 million.

Accelerating the acceptance of cryptocurrencies and blockchain-enabled digital assets (among them NFTs) is a focus of the European Commission. In September 2020, the European Commission launched a Digital Finance Strategy, including a proposal for a ‘Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets’.  Currently, the European Commission is working on “developing a pro-innovation legal framework in the areas of digital assets (tokenisation) and smart contracts that protects consumers and provides legal certainty for businesses.” *

During this webinar, we will explain and discuss the definition of NFTs, their relationship to blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and their primary use cases to date, as well as their place in supporting patent rights and value.  We will explain why and how patent NFTs have the potential to turn patents into a new asset class.

*European Blockchain Strategy; Shaping Europe’s digital future” 8 March 2021. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/european-blockchain-strategy-brochure