As the blockchain is gaining momentum in the industry, more and more companies from different fields of specialization show their interest in utilizing this technology. While full implementation of blockchain in the legal system is still regarded with skepticism by many lawyers that believe it will take some of their work away, legal pioneers such as Pyrgou Vakis Law Firm embrace the technology today!

It is with great pleasure we are welcoming Pyrgou Vakis Law Firm as our new partner in fighting the falsification and tampering of legal documents. Pyrgou Vakis LLC is a well-established law firm in Nicosia, Cyprus with an impeccable track record linked to uncompromising professional standards. Its clients range from small local companies to multinational organisations seeking first-class legal guidance related to Cyprus, including cross-border activities. The law firm has been awarded ISO9001:2015 and IQNet certifications and is a member of Telfa Trans-European Law Firms Alliance and EuropeFides, a European association of independent tax consultants, certified accountants, and lawyers. …

In this article, we will be discussing the state of technical standards in the blockchain industry. With every new technology, standard requirements arise because they help ensure safety, reliability, and contribute to the advancement of innovation. Technical standards are formal documents that establish consistent technical criteria, methods, and practices, developed through an accredited consensus process. They contain technical specifications and other precise criteria designed to be used consistently as a rule, guideline, or definition.

Applying technical and legislative standards to decentralized and open-source networks like distributed ledgers and blockchains undoubtedly presents challenges, but it’s not impossible to achieve. Decentralization means there is no central entity responsible for developing, delivering, and monitoring standards and their implementation. However, there already exists a system in place that experienced the same path before and could help define some guidelines. That’s the Internet, a “loosely-organized international collaboration of autonomous, interconnected networks, supports communication through voluntary adherence to open protocols and procedures defined by Internet Standards”, as defined by IETF, the premier Internet standards organization. …

In this series of articles, we will be discussing the General Data Protection Regulation commonly know as GDPR, and explain its relation with Distributed Ledger Technologies such as blockchain. According to Article 8 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights on Protection of Personal Data, “Everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him or her”, thus establishing data protection as one of the most important rights for EU citizens. …

Patents, trademarks, and industrial designs, along with copyrights, are all types of intellectual property protections that help creators of written stories, inventions, artistic works, or symbols to stop people from stealing or copying their pieces of work. In this article, we will examine how blockchain is used in Intellectual Property rights.

Broadly speaking, Intellectual Properties (IP) are “unique, value-adding creations of the human intellect that result from human ingenuity, creativity, and inventiveness.” (Kalanje, 2006).

By observing trends, we can identify a steady increase in the number of Intellectual Property applications worldwide. According to official statistics by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), applications worldwide of patents grew 72.3% over ten years, increasing to 3,326,300 from 2008 to 2018. Trademarks grew an astonishing 160% over the same period, to a record 14,321,800 number of applications, while industrial design applications were 1,312,600, growing by 61%. Every country has a specific authority where to apply for proper protection. However, it is becoming increasingly common that these jurisdictions will utilize blockchain technology to provide a smoother, faster, and cheaper application process and a system that ensures an incorruptible and secure timestamping through the hashing function. …

Blockchain as an immutable and incorruptible ledger of different types of data finds its natural expression in accounting. Or, we could reverse the concept in that accounting is the most natural application for blockchain technology. Modern accounting is based on the double-entry system which, since the Renaissance time, allowed managers to realize whether they could trust their own books.

In the double-entry system, transactions are recorded in terms of debits and credits. Since a debit in one account neutralizes a credit in another, the sum of all debits must equal the sum of all credits. Double-entry bookkeeping allows firms to maintain records that show what the firm owns and owes, and also what the firm has earned and spent over any given period of time. Triple entry accounting is a more recent enhancement of the traditional double-entry system in which all accounting entries, including purchases of inventory and supplies, sales, taxes, utility expenses, and so forth, are cryptographically sealed by a third entry. …

Blockchain can be easily associated with benefits offered to finance, insurance, supply chain but it is rarely perceived alongside copyrights. Yet, this is another industry that will be positively disrupted by the technology especially given what is happening in the media with fake news and social network hacks.

Blockchain’s main purpose is to help businesses become more efficient with faster processes, in a secure environment where all you need is trust in algorithms. However, how could it prevent social media hacking, fake news, and provide a platform to protect digital copyrights, in a censorship-resistant environment?

Let’s find out.

Copyrights Infringement

As misuse of copyrighted work is the main issue in authorship, blockchain technology can help to make the fraud instantly detectable and thus deterring people from misuse. The current system doesn’t provide enough assistance to victims of theft, especially when they’re up against a large and powerful group. Furthermore, it’s mostly focused on resolving the ownership in disputes after a misuse has been uncovered. …

This year brought a lot of difficulties to most of the people around the globe. Together with that, in 2020 many companies and businesses were hit by the crisis, from the small entrepreneurs to the leaders of the global market. We had to learn and innovate to adjust and thrive in the new ways of working, collaborating, and communicating. The Coronavirus pandemic gave us many valuable lessons to learn, but most importantly — we understood that only by working together we can overcome global issues.

As most companies, at Block.co, we had to adapt to the disruptive changes dictated by the lockdown measures. But we managed to get through by focusing on what we can do best and offering our help to institutions that would benefit from our solution in times of crisis. Together with that, we took time to support our community and educate people on Blockchain Technology, its potential and upcoming trends, through our free webcasts, which received amazing feedback and gathered people from over 50 countries around the world! Our efforts paid off, and in the first 7 months of this year, Block.co issued more than 25,000 documents on one of the most robust blockchains — Bitcoin. …

Block.co fourth webcast titled “Digital Transformation of the Public Sector & The Upcoming Legislation of Blockchain Technology in Cyprus” was an immense success. We gathered some of the best experts in the field, Deputy Minister Kyriacos Kokkinos, Jeff Bandman, Steve Tendon, and Christiana Aristidou to share their experience and discuss with us the latest updates regarding Blockchain in the Public Sector.

In its fourth series of webcasts, Block.co gathered 281 people watching the event from 41 different countries, for a two-hour webcast where guests answered participants’ questions. Following the impressive outcome and response we received from the audience, Block.co’s …