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Global Blockchain Patent Status

Release Time：

2023-04-25

Blockchain is a securely shared, decentralized data ledger. In recent years, blockchain has rapidly integrated with new generation information technologies such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and 5G, and its applications have extended to many fields such as digital finance, the Internet of Things, intelligent manufacturing, supply chain management, and digital asset transactions. . As the number of participating entities increases, competition in terms of technology, models, patents and other dimensions has become increasingly fierce. In particular, blockchain companies attach great importance to technology research and development and patent layout. Related patent applications have experienced explosive growth, and the patent competition landscape has become increasingly fierce.

1. Global blockchain patent application layout

Search statistics from relevant patent databases show that from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2022, the number of patent authorizations in the global blockchain field was 37,595, of which 22,457 were from China, accounting for 59.7%; the United States The number of patent authorizations is 8,950, accounting for 23.8%; the number of Japanese patent authorizations is 1,339, accounting for 3.6%; the number of Korean patent authorizations is 976, accounting for 2.6%; the number of German patent authorizations is 604, accounting for 1.6%; the number of Australian patent authorizations The number of patent authorizations in Singapore was 453, accounting for 1.2%; the number of patent authorizations in Singapore was 424, accounting for 1.1%; the number of patent authorizations in other countries and regions accounted for less than 1%.

There are 1,032 patents granted in China globally, including 309 from the United States, accounting for 30.0%; 120 from Japan, accounting for 11.6%; and 32 from Germany, accounting for 3.1%. Judging from the development trend, foreign patent holders pay more attention to patent layout in China. Among them, American and Japanese patent holders have carried out long-term patent layout in China. Patent holders from South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and other countries have made nearly five During the year, the patent application layout in China was significantly accelerated.

2. Ranking of global blockchain patentees

The key patent holders of global blockchain technology mainly apply for invention patents. Among the top ten patent holders in the world in terms of patent authorization volume, Chinese companies have occupied six seats. Among the top twenty patentees in the world in terms of patent authorizations, three Chinese companies including Ant Group (4,740), Tencent (3,439), and Baidu (1,123) are in the first echelon, with an average number of patent authorizations. More than 1,000 cases; 6 companies including IBM (663 cases), Ping An Technology (425 cases), China Unicom (329 cases), British Enchain (298 cases), American MasterCard (243 cases), Hangzhou Complex Beauty (202 cases) Belonging to the second echelon, the number of patent authorizations is more than 200; 11 companies including Bank of America, Microsoft, and Pure Storage are in the third echelon, and the number of patent authorizations is between 100 and 200.

Ant Group ranks first in the world in terms of patent authorizations and has the most extensive layout, with 2,292 patent authorizations from China, 898 authorizations from the United States, 242 authorizations from Singapore, 216 authorizations from Germany, 169 authorizations from Japan, 167 authorizations from South Korea, and 138 authorizations from Australia. Canada authorized 97 items. Among Tencent's authorized patents, 3,345 were authorized by China, 33 were authorized by the United States, 33 were authorized by Japan, 16 were authorized by South Korea, and 5 were authorized by Germany. Among Baidu's authorized patents, 990 were authorized by China, 73 were authorized by Japan, 36 were authorized by the United States, 18 were authorized by South Korea, and 1 was authorized by Germany. Among IBM's authorized patents, 618 are authorized by the United States, 23 are authorized by Japan, and 12 are authorized by China. Foreign companies such as Enchain from the UK, Microsoft from the US, MasterCard from the US, Accenture from Ireland, Visa from the US, etc., although the number of patents granted is not high, their global presence is relatively extensive.

Figure 1 Basic layout of global blockchain patents

3. Patent layout status of global blockchain patentees

The mainstream technical architecture of blockchain is divided into six first-level technical branches: data layer, network layer, consensus layer, incentive layer, contract layer and application layer, including data structure, confidentiality mechanism, authority management, computing resources, and distributed structure. , verification mechanism, network routing, consensus mechanism, incentive mechanism, smart contract, interface call, value transfer class, certificate deposit class, authorization management class, etc. 18 secondary technology branches.

Among them, the application layer is mainly responsible for adapting to various application scenarios of the blockchain and providing users with various services and applications. It has the largest number of patent authorizations (8,864), accounting for 23.6% of the total global patent authorizations in this field. Secondly, the number of global patent authorizations in the data layer is 4,822, accounting for 12.8%; the number of global patent authorizations in the network layer is 5,118, accounting for 13.6%; the number of global patent authorizations in the consensus layer is 6,369, accounting for 16.9%; the number of global patent authorizations in the incentive layer 5,134, accounting for 13.7%; the number of global patent authorizations at the contract level is 7,288, accounting for 19.4%.

Figure 2 Global blockchain patent technology composition

Through statistics on the number of patent authorizations under the mainstream technology architecture layer of the blockchain, it is found that Ant Group and Tencent have ranked first in the world in the number of patent authorizations at each mainstream technology architecture layer. Among them, Ant Group has 973 data layer patent authorizations, 968 consensus layer patent authorizations, 1,315 contract layer patent authorizations, 871 application layer patent authorizations, 389 network layer patent authorizations, and 224 incentive layer patent authorizations. Software, data layer, consensus layer, contract layer and application layer patent authorizations rank first in the world, focusing on data structure, encryption mechanism, rights management, computing resources and other related technologies. Tencent has authorized 516 network layer patents, 621 consensus layer patents, 1,170 contract layer patents, 692 application layer patents, 252 incentive layer patents, and 188 data layer patents. The number of patent authorizations in the network layer and incentive layer ranks first in the world, with a focus on smart contract technology.

In addition, Baidu's technology is concentrated in the contract layer and application layer. Among them, 137 contract layer patents have been authorized and 755 application layer patents have been authorized, with a focus on electronic bills and other related technologies. IBM's technology is concentrated in the network layer, consensus layer, incentive layer and contract layer. Among them, there are 114 patent authorizations in the network layer, 148 patent authorizations in the consensus layer, 151 patent authorizations in the incentive layer, and 130 patent authorizations in the contract layer. . Ping An Technology's technologies are concentrated in the consensus layer, with 241 patents granted. US NetRui storage technology is concentrated in the incentive layer, with 114 patents granted. The number of patents granted by other patentees at each technical architecture level is less than 100.

Figure 3 Global blockchain mainstream technology architecture layer

Basic situation of patent layout

4. Development Suggestions

(1) Actively break through technical weaknesses.In particular, under the data layer technology architecture, focus on the research and development layout of directed acyclic graph DAG, chain structure, off-chain storage and other technologies within the data structure technology, for example, strengthening the DAG structure expansion, security, parallel working methods, etc. We will strengthen research on cross-chain communication expansion and security, and strengthen research on off-chain data storage. In addition, it is also necessary to focus on the research and development layout of core encryption algorithm technology within encryption mechanism technology, improve key security, and strengthen research on verification of node on-chain and data on-chain.

(2) Strengthen the layout of core technology patents.Continue to follow the research and development direction and patent layout of key foreign companies such as IBM, Mastercard, NChain, and COINPLUG. In particular, the research and development trends of key core technologies that restrict the development of my country's blockchain technology, such as the previously mentioned directed acyclic graph DAG, chain structure, core encryption algorithm and other key technologies that are in urgent need of breakthroughs. In addition, it is also necessary to focus on tracking the standardization process of blockchain technology and actively participate in the formulation of standards.

(3) Improve the quality of patent application document writing.Although domestic applicants have a certain advantage in the number of patent applications, the quality of writing some patent application documents still needs to be further improved. For example, first, in the background technology section of the specification, the technical development context involved in the point of invention can be described in as much detail as possible, and documents reflecting these background technologies can be cited. Second, it can clearly record the technical problems to be solved by the technical solution of this application and clarify the problems and shortcomings existing in the background technology. Third, the technical solution to solve the technical problem can be recorded clearly and completely, so that those skilled in the art can implement the technical solution.

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