It may be the moment for the IP profession to get to grips with the use of blockchain technology in its practice. Blockchain has, of course, risen to its current fame as the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, but how relevant is it to IP professionals and trademark law and practice? In their Article, Time to Get Smart?, Birgit Clark and Rachel Wilkinson-Duffy, Baker McKenzie, London, explore the idea of “smart IP rights” and…
On the 23rd and 24th November 2018, the Blockchain Leadership Summit was held in Basel, Switzerland. The participating leaders represented states (for example, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat), blockchain businesses, the finance sector, academia as well as various industries. Manuel Meyer and Yves Mauchle of Baker McKenzie Zurich held a workshop on structuring an initial coin offering. The first topic of the workshop was the regulatory categorization of the token based on its underlying economic…
Brussels, 20 November 2018: The EU Blockchain Roundtable took place with the theme of ‘bringing industries together for Europe to lead in blockchain technologies’. The Roundtable, hosted by EU leaders for digital economy and technology, met with the aim of gathering support for a comprehensive EU strategy to boost exploitation of blockchain technology across Europe.
Cryptoassets continue to be a hot topic for financial services regulators. On 19 October 2018, it was the turn of the Securities and Markets Stakeholders Group (“SMSG“), which represents various stakeholders’ interests to the European Securities Markets Authority (“ESMA“). The SMSG published a report setting out its advice to ESMA on how to contain the risks of cryptoassets and ICOs.
On Monday 3 October, the European Parliament adopted a non-legislative Resolution on distributed ledger technologies (DLT) / blockchain. In the Resolution, the Parliament makes clear that it is keen to make Europe a leading player in the blockchain field. It discusses a range of blockchain use cases including: improving data efficiency and the reporting of clinical trials in the health sector; improving supply chain processes, such as facilitating the forwarding and monitoring of origin of…
In March 2018 the European Commission issued a proposal for a regulation on crowdfunding service providers (“CSPs”) (the “Proposal”) as part of its broader FinTech action plan. CSPs operate online platforms which facilitate investments in innovative companies, start-ups and other unlisted firms companies by private investors. The Proposal plans to enable CSPs to offer their services across Europe more easily and also to improve access to CSP services across the EU. On 10th August 2018,…
The EU Blockchain Observatory & Forum (EBOF) launched in February 2018 has published its first thematic report outlining the current state of blockchain in Europe. It’s a pretty broad report, but does provide a helpful overview of progress to date and give some useful insight into the EU’s priorities. Europe: fertile ground for blockchain growth and innovation? EBOF views Europe as being in a prime position for blockchain technologies. The report outlines recent and ongoing…
On 18 July 2018 the European Parliament Committee on Internal Trade (“CIT”) published a draft report setting out a motion for a European Parliament Resolution regarding how blockchain could be harnessed to enhance international trade and supply chain management. The report focuses on the use of permissioned (private) blockchain solutions. Blockchain  Benefits  The CIT believes that blockchain provides enormous opportunities for reducing barriers within global trade. In particular, the potential benefits of permissioned blockchain…
On 3 July 2018, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a report outlining the prudential risks and opportunities arising from FinTech as part of its 2018 FinTech Roadmap. The report includes useful guidance on the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for trade finance and CDD (although the EBA is keen to note that the report should not be considered to provide an exhaustive list of possible prudential risks and opportunities that may arise.) Trade…
23 European countries have signed a Declaration on the establishment of a European Blockchain Partnership. The Partnership is intended to be a vehicle for cooperation amongst EU Member States to exchange experience and expertise in technical and regulatory fields and prepare for the launch of EU-wide blockchain applications across the Digital Single Market for the benefit of both the public and private sectors. The EU partners are keen to ensure that EU plays a leading…