Alibaba to Secure New Blockchain Technologies

Alibaba Group Holding has filed more than 10% of the world’s patent applications for blockchain in a sign of China’s ambitions to dominate the next generation technology in uses beyond cryptocurrencies, Nikkei reported. China filed more patent applications than the US last year, with technology companies such as Tencent Holdings and Baidu accounting for 56% of the worldwide total of 406, according to data collated by Thomson Reuters. Applications from the US came a distant second at 22%. The US still has the largest number of cumulative applications, but on an annual basis, China is in the lead. Chinese companies are keen to exploit blockchain, a rapidly growing technology which ensures that data cannot be altered, for applications such as guaranteeing the origin of brands and products. “Blockchain is a new technological landscape where it could be very profitable for Chinese companies to grab significant territory in their patent claim language,” said Taiwan-based John Eastwood, a partner at Eiger Law who specializes in intellectual property and technology. “Holding several patents helps to give an aura of legitimacy that helps many companies in the blockchain field to attract investors or acquirers.”