The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published the details of the three patent applications filed by Bank of America for distributed ledger technology (DLT) or Blockchain technology.
Based on the document, the patents were filed in February 2016, and the bank does not seem to be stopping at that as it plans to go big on Blockhain with 20 patents pending since 2016 making it appear like it’s trying to monopolize the industry in the long run.
Details of the patent applications
The first patent is titled “System for Tracking and Validation of an Entity in a Process Data Network.” The system employs Blockchain technology to track and validate a user’s identification. The system can also update new information about a user and store and time stamp the additional data as time progresses. Among the information that can be stored and identified by the system are signatures, physical features and locations or addresses of a user.
Whereas the second patent involves a process that can be used to validate the changes made to a user identity to allow the system to update and evolve said information over time.
The third patent application is titled “System for Conversion of an Instrument From a Non-Secured Instrument to a Secured Instrument in a Process Data Network.” The patent involves a system or a computer program for generating and using a Blockchain distributed network to facilitate the conversion of an instrument into an authenticated secured instrument.
Based on the patent applications, the bank wants to use the Blockchain technology to validate both individuals who are using its system, as well as the information within the system to better facilitate the transactions.
No patent approvals yet
Based on public data, there were already several companies applying for various patents related to Blockchain technology, including IBM, PayPal and Verizon.
Bank of America has also filed 10 patents in 2015, making it one of the most active companies with patent pending applications.
However, USPTO is yet to approve a single patent from them so far as the total number of patent applications actually doubled in the first quarter of 2017 from various companies and industries trying, signaling that Blockchain technology is here to stay and what we see of its applications is just the tip of the iceberg.