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Bank of America Tops IBM, Payments Firms With Most Blockchain Patents (bloomberg.com)

Posted by msmash on from the race-to-win-the-unknown dept.

Bank of America may not be willing to help customers invest in Bitcoin, but that doesn't mean it isn't plowing into the technology underlying the cryptocurrency. From a report: The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender has applied for or received at least 43 patents for blockchain, the ledger technology used for verifying and recording transactions that's at the heart of virtual currencies. It is the largest number among major banks and technology companies, according to a study by EnvisionIP, a New York-based law firm that specializes in analyses of intellectual property. "Based on what's publicly out there, the technology sector hasn't embraced blockchain as much as the financial-services industry," Maulin Shah, managing attorney for EnvisionIP, said in an interview. International Business Machines Corp., which has targeted blockchain and artificial intelligence for future growth, tied with Mastercard Inc. for second on the list, with 27 each.

2 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Bullshit patents by quantaman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They didn't invent this tech yet they're patenting the shit out of it.

    The people that work at the USPTO need to be shot.

    Most likely this wouldn't be patents on the blockchain itself, but patents on how to integrate it into other banking technology.

    But that's not the only scenario, I expect two main possibilities of what's going on here.

    1) They're planning on using the blockchain to help with money transfers between banks. No so much a crypto-currency but a way to track existing currency.
    2) They're trying to solve the same problems bitcoin is trying to solve, with the intention of preventing bitcoin from using that solution (and thus blocking crypto-currencies).

    --
    I stole this Sig
  2. Welcome to First To File, aka Corporations Invent! by kbonin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    With our fun new "first to file" patent system, not only can corporations beat almost any inventor to locking up an idea, we've nearly completely killed open science! And while many historians consider "first to file" to be a big part of the growth of American innovation and business in the previous centuries, we needed to reprioritize to help usher in our glorious new Gilded Age. Remember children, the government is just taking care of the most important citizens! So rejoice in your serfdom, and pick up that can...

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...