Application of blockchain technologies in systematizing the results of intellectual activity

Introduction: this article offers a comparative analysis of systematization of the results of intellectual activity in the Russian Federation and abroad. Systems for the registration of creative works in various countries, including Russia, function in different areas. There are registers in libraries and archives, as well as those maintained by organizations for the collective management of rights. In Europe, for example, a register of so-called orphan works (works whose authors are unknown) has been created. At the same time, the fact that a variety of such registers exist often makes commercialization of copyrighted objects quite difficult, especially if the turnover in rights to such objects takes place predominantly on the Internet. This article considers various registration systems for the results of creative work and identifies possibilities for the application of blockchain technologies to the systematization of such results. Purpose: to identify regulatory models for the systematization of the results of creative work in the digital sphere for the purpose of using blockchain technologies for the registration of rights to the results of intellectual activity. Methods: the methodological framework of the research is based on dialectical, formal, functional and other general research methods, as well as special methods used by legal scholars: comparative law research and technical research. Results: the authors have identified and described the existing Russian and foreign mechanisms utilized for the systematization of the results of creative work. Based on the comparative analysis offered herein, the possibilities of using blockchain technologies to systematize the results of intellectual activity have been demonstrated for the purpose of the subsequent creation of a single register of intellectual property. Conclusions: the analysis of systematization of the results of intellectual activity in accordance with Russian law and laws of some foreign countries enables us to conclude that the use of blockchain technologies for the purpose of systematizing the results of intellectual activity makes it possible to store, disseminate and transfer information about copyright objects and their rightsholders, their disposal systems, users, etc., and, thusly, can be used instead of the existing databases for intellectual property. The systematization of the results of intellectual activity on the basis of blockchain technologies answers the necessary technical requirements, safety requirements, requirements to decentralization, provides various access levels, and eliminates the need to have a third party to verify the transactions. The use of blockchain technologies would make registration and maintenance of registers by organizations for collective management of copyright and related rights and other organizations much less expensive, and would help to eliminate unnecessary intermediaries in this area.