Australia’s top-tier rugby league, the National Rugby League (NRL), and IP Australia will trial a blockchain-based application to curb the sale of counterfeit products.
It has been reported that the new application uses blockchain to enable trademark owners to link their products to the government register. It acts as proof of their products’ authenticity, their origin and helps them control the use of their mark.
However, IP Australia is an agency of the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science that orchestrates and regulates the issuance of intellectual property rights and legislation relating to patents, trademarks, registered designs, and plant breeders rights in Australia.
According to the report, NRL will link two of its online merchandise stores NRL Shop and Savvy Supporter with the platform, as part of the trial. Doing so will attach a “trust badge” to each of these websites which will be visual proof for their customers that the websites have been verified by IP Australia.
Australia’s intellectual property rights issuer is using blockchain to ensure rugby fans receive authentic products https://t.co/3iw2RyK0ra — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) August 10, 2020
Customers will also be able to view information regarding the registered trademark by clicking on the trust badge.
Karen Andrews, the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, said that they can use the application to prevent the counterfeiting of Australia-made products.
She added:
“It is a great example of how new technologies can be applied in very practical ways to grow the economy and create local jobs.”
The “trust badge” initiative of IP Australia is part of the agency’s Smart Trade Mark platform that they are trialing across various industries to improve tracking and tracing of authentic products and minimize the sale of counterfeit products.
Thus, IP Australia is also working with Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization to test the use of their blockchain application.
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: HipWallpaper