By Alicia Maher
Blockchain technology has revolutionized the order of things in some sectors. Lately, mainstream firms such as banking institutions have been adopting the technology. Tech and software giant, Microsoft has joined the ranks and is looking to address the issue of intellectual property theft with a blockchain-inspired solution. Microsoft will be employing the Ethereum blockchain to implement the proposed solution.
Popular products belonging to the Software giant, especially the Windows Operating System and the Office suite have both been duplicated on a number of unlicensed platforms. Thus, Microsoft is resorting to a solution through blockchain technology to address these issues. However, to put out an effective solution would require transparency of the blockchain.
In a report issued by its research team, Microsoft and some research partners from Alibaba and Carnegie Mellon University agreed to create a blockchain-inspired solution to aid anti-piracy efforts.
Microsoft Names Blockchain Solution ‘Argus’
The research was entitled Argus: A Fully Transparent Incentive System for Anti-Piracy Campaigns. This is an indication that Microsoft’s new solution will be dependent on the openness of the blockchain innovation. Microsoft’s Argus will function on the Ethereum blockchain, which is often regarded as the internet blockchain. This will help provide a permissionless rewarding system and as well, protect the data received from those who report the issue of piracy.
A quoted part in its research paper acknowledged that the issue is a distributed system problem and in implementing the solution, will ensure that it addresses concerns on security in view of its transparency.
The Argus solution will enable Microsoft to trace duplicated content to the original source using a watermark algorithm explained in the research paper. Microsoft also named the solution “proof of leakage,” such that every reported pirated content entails a data protection method. In view of this, only the person who owns the watermarked duplicate can report it. Others informers won’t be able to do so unless they owned it.
The solution also has a framework in place that safeguards against the reportage of duplicated content more than necessary under various pseudonyms. “With the security and viability of Argus, we trust genuine anti-piracy efforts will be really successful by moving to a completely open and rewarding system,” the report declared.
Ethereum Gas Costs Will Not Be a Problem
Highlighting the issue of Ethereum gas costs, the paper clarified that the research team revised a number of cryptographic attempts” to reduce the costs for piracy reporting. As such, spanning thousands of transactions, Microsoft will streamline the cost of such activities to sending around 14 ETH-transfer transactions to run on the network.
Blockchain technology has presented itself as a new solution to tech firms who have become excessively concerned about safeguarding IP and tackling IP theft. Lately, Tech Mahindra, the IT arm of Indian giant firm, Mahindra Group, released a novel blockchain-based digital agreements and rights solution on IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric protocol solely for the media and entertainment sector.