Iran is set to transform its online copyright protection system by application of blockchain technology, head of digital media department at the Ministry of Culture announced.
“In Iran, application of blockchain technology has been limited to cryptocurrencies and monetary systems. This is while in most developed countries the technology is being used for preserving copyrights,” Morteza Mousavian told Ibena.
According to him, Iranian authorities are resolved to catch up with the global trend. “The Ministry of Culture’s digital media department has forged a deal with a blockchain company to devise a system which can be used to preserve online copyrights.” The company is yet to be named.
“The procedure will be fast and user-friendly.” Initially, each file will receive a 128-bit unique fingerprint also known as a cryptographic hash. The procedure is called hashing and is used to index and retrieve items in databases.
As part of the initiative, after being registered and hashed, no one but the creator of the digital content will be able to share the product through registered websites or social media platforms without earning the author’s consent.
Artists and online content producers rely on enforcement of copyright laws for earning their livelihood. Noting this, Mousavian called on policymakers to put the matter on top of their priorities.
Renovating the online copyright protection system is part of a state push to regulate the online content used by Iranian users. As part of the plan introduced by the Ministry of Culture, all pieces of digital content published in Iran are to receive an identification code.
Foreign Examples
The technology invented in 2008 to power Bitcoin has been described as the distributed ledger technology and is now used in various fields. On the online forum Bitcoin Talk, blockchain has been described as an endless row of transparent safes lined up in space.
Each safe is identified by a number and has a slot that allows people to drop money or any data package into it. The safes are all made of bulletproof glass, so anybody can see how much is in any given safe at any given time. Furthermore, each safe’s transactions are recorded in a public ledger.
Blockchain has become the buzzword around the globe and various firms are devising systems to apply blockchain technology to copyright management and licensing.
Photography giant Kodak has announced plans to launch its own cryptocurrency named KODAKCoin which is to make it easier for photographers to get paid for their work, and maintain control over their intellectual property.
The company will also collaborate with WENN Digital to implement a platform called KODAKOne, which will use blockchain technology to underpin a digital ledger documenting who owns the rights to individual images. The KODAKCoin cryptocurrency will be used as a method of paying for permission to use these photographs.
The Stockholm-based music streaming service Spotify last year entered the blockchain world with the acquisition of a startup called Mediachain. The acquisition is to help Spotify pay the right people for every track that is played on its immensely popular service and preserve the creators’ intellectual property.
Renovating Copyright Laws
On various occasions, ICT authorities in Tehran have called for the introduction of new copyright laws and a mechanism for enforcing it.
In September, Communications and Information Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said, “Iran’s outdated copyright law has hindered the ICT sector.”
According to Jahromi, local copyright laws date back to half a century ago and are simply unfit for modern-day business. “The ministry will propose a new bill on copyright” and after parliamentary approval, it will become law, he was quoted as saying.
The head of Iran’s High Council of Cyberspace, Abolhassan Firouzabadi, has urged the judiciary “to introduce a legal framework for enforcing copyright laws. The judiciary should take effective measures to protect original works of developers and put an end to online piracy.”
