At the end of December 2019, the NIPA announced the revised guidelines to patent applications for new emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data, and business rules and methods.
The National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) in China continues to clarify the guidelines for blockchain patent applications, which are set to become effective as of Feb. 1.
One example of the revised guidelines is a method and device for secure communication between blockchain nodes. The invention patent application proposes a blockchain node communication method and device that solves the problem where blockchain business nodes leak privacy data while communicating with each other.
The guidelines reads:
“Before a business node in a blockchain establishes a communication connection, it can determine whether to establish a communication connection according to the CA certificate carried in the communication request and a pre-configured CA trust list. This reduces the possibility of business nodes leaking private data and improves the security of data stored in the blockchain.”
Analysts said that the revision of the guidelines is in direct response to the needs of the development of new industries such as blockchain. It also reflects China’s strategic direction of strengthening intellectual property protection, by being more friendly towards patent applicants in these emerging fields – all of which seems to herald the much-anticipated digital renminbi.
China paves way for its central bank digital currency
China has formally implemented a law governing cryptographic password management as part of its pre-release plans for its central bank digital currency. The Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress in China passed the crypto law at the end of October. The law divides passwords at large into three distinct categories – passwords, common passwords, and commercial passwords – and aims to facilitate China’s transition to blockchain technology.
China Announces New Regulatory Authority to Certify Digital Payments, Blockchain Products
China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, will certify 11 types of financial technology hardware and software that are widely used for digital payment and blockchain services with its new verification system called the Certification of Fintech Products.
The central bank released the first list of fintech products that could be used in both front-end and bank-end development for digital payment services, according to filings dated Oct. 26 from the bank.
The new regulatory system comes at a time when China is accelerating the development of new financial infrastructure, including a digital version of its currency and a push by President Xi Jinping to capitalize on blockchain technology.
The central bank envisions the national digital currency boosting the digital payment industry, touting its own coin’s security features and off-line transaction ability as superior to commercial products offered by China’s Alipay and WeChat Pay.
With 11 fintech products currently on the central bank’s list, the certification system covers all the products that could be involved in digital payment technologies, including point-of-sale mobile terminals, embedded application software, user front-end software, and security carriers and chips.
The central bank will grant applicants a Certification of Fintech Product (CFP) if their products pass the prototype examination and on-site checks. The certificate will be reviewed and renewed every three years, according to the bank.
Related authorities would conduct random inspections on any step of the production process to ensure compliance while the certificate is valid. Institutions will be allowed to stamp the certifica on their logo; however, the certification cannot be used to directly promote a products or for advertising.
One of the very specific items included on the list of 11 products is trusted execution environment (TEE), a technology that can assist in the establishment of a “consortium blockchain network and verifying blockchain transactions in financial transactions use cases”, according to the filing.
The U.S. internet giant Microsoft filed for two patents in August 2018 to use similar type of technologies to improve the security and capacity of its blockchain services offerings.
