Before demoing our product, I want to provide quick context on the inspiration. I recently had a conversation with a close friend who wanted to share their patents with the world. However, their excitement quickly turned into frustration as they discovered the exorbitant costs associated with navigating the convoluted legal landscape and finding potential buyers. Meanwhile, I found online that companies had trouble scouting relevant patents, with transactions costing thousands due to the lawyer fees involved.
This encounter ignited a fire within me—a burning determination to create a solution that would empower innovators like my friend and revolutionize the way intellectual property is transacted. That's when NearIP was born, an Intellectual Property NFT Marketplace built on Near Protocol's Blockchain Operating System.
Here’s the data. Did you know that intellectual property (IP) and patents play a significant role in both the Canadian and US economies? In the United States, IP-intensive industries account for an astounding 38.2% of the nation's GDP, contributing over USD 6.6 trillion to the economy [source: U.S. Department of Commerce].
However, the current IP ecosystem is burdened by inefficiencies and limitations. Traditional methods of IP protection, licensing, and transactions are slow, costly, and prone to disputes. This hampers innovation and prevents creators from fully leveraging the value of their intellectual assets.
That's where NearIP comes in. NearIP is an Intellectual Property NFT Marketplace built on Near Protocol's Blockchain Operating System, offering a transformative solution for the IP industry. By harnessing the power of blockchain technology, NearIP brings a multitude of benefits to all stakeholders involved.
For creators, NearIP provides a secure and transparent platform to tokenize their intellectual property as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). This enables them to establish verifiable ownership, protect their IP rights, and unlock new avenues for monetization. Creators can seamlessly license their IP assets to interested parties, ensuring fair compensation and streamlined transactions.
For investors, NearIP opens up a new world of investment opportunities in the IP space. Through the marketplace, they can explore a diverse range of IP assets and participate in their growth potential. The transparent nature of blockchain ensures trust and reduces the risk of fraud, providing a secure environment for IP investments.
NearIP also benefits businesses seeking to access and license IP assets. The marketplace offers a global repository of NFT-based IP assets, facilitating easy discovery and licensing negotiations. By leveraging blockchain's immutability and smart contract capabilities, NearIP enables streamlined, automated licensing agreements, reducing legal complexities and ensuring compliance.
Near - for user authentication through Near's Wallet, so we can track who owns what patents and charge the relevant fees through Near
Firebase - for storage of patent information (next step is moving it onto Near, couldn't get that working in time)
Voiceflow - AI driven chatbot to help with any user inquiries, both general or specific (e.g. what elevator patents exist)
During the development of NearIP, we faced challenges in ensuring seamless integration with Near Wallet for user authentication, implementing a reliable storage solution with Firebase, and fine-tuning the Voiceflow AI chatbot to provide accurate and helpful responses to user inquiries regarding elevator patents or general queries.
Working with NEAR for the first time for Michael and second time for William!
Learning more about NEAR and building a proof of concept in time this weekend 😄
Throughout the development of NearIP, we learned about the significant challenges faced by creators and businesses in the current IP ecosystem, including high costs, inefficiencies, and limited accessibility. We also gained valuable insights into the potential of blockchain technology to revolutionize IP transactions by providing secure ownership, streamlined licensing, and increased transparency.
In terms of business model, we can charge a flat fee of 1% on every patent transaction so instead of paying thousands for a lawyer to look through a bunch of paperwork, you can get a seamless and secure experience through NearIP for $100 if their patent is being sold for $10k. Will $38 Billion in patents listed out of the total $3 trillion worth of US patents, that’s a total addressable market of $380 million. Capturing just 1% of that would mean annual revenues of $3.8 million.
We hope to take NearIP from a proof of concept to a fully working application on Near! Right now we are using Firebase to store the information due to not being able to get the Near smart contracts working in time, but we already have the logic in place to secure these patents on chain.
To conclude, NearIP revolutionizes the trillion dollar IP industry by increasing efficiency, transparency, and accessibility. By embracing blockchain technology, we empower creators, investors, and businesses to fully leverage the immense value of intellectual property.
Join us in shaping the future of IP transactions with NearIP!