US and China Battle for Blockchain Dominance

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"Blockchain patent applications in the US patent process face additional hurdles to show the invention is patentable subject matter and more than the use of an algorithm. The bar for patentable subject isn't as high in other countries like China."

The IP being protectedThe CNIPA and USPTO require patent applicants to use the International Patent Classification for categorizing their patent filings.

Top CNIPA and USPTO patent ownersWe extracted the top patent owners of granted blockchain-related technology patents by the CNIPA and USPTO. In the table below, we focus on just the top three in each country.

One of its patents defines a method for tracking food quality on a blockchain application.

Alibaba, for example, has a patent for a music originality analysis method and device based on a blockchain.

One patent describes an operating system for IoT devices controlled by a blockchain.

Mastercard holds nine patents with the USPTO, one of which is a smart parking meter verification method using a blockchain.

The rate of blockchain-related patent protection in the country is accelerating, with the sheer number of China's blockchain-related patents outpacing the rate of the U.S., but contributing to these numbers are U.S. companies filing patents in multiple locations to increase their IP protection globally.

While China may appear to be accelerating beyond the U.S. in patent approvals on the surface, multiple leading global companies operate in both countries and protect their intellectual property as such.

The bottom lineBlockchain-related patents are just one indicator of a country's blockchain dominance.

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