U.S. software company Intuit has been awarded a patent for processing Bitcoin (BTC) payments via text message (SMS), according to a filing published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) August 7. The patent, which outlines a system through which users can transfer BTC funds via sending an SMS on their cellphones, was originally filed in 2014, the same year that Intuit’s DIY tax solution QuickBooks partnered with BitPay to create a PayByCoin service for business clients to pay their invoices in BTC. As the patent outlines: “The invention [...] includes receiving, by a payment service from a payer …

U.S. retail giant Walmart has applied for another patent, which describes the management of smart appliances using blockchain technology, according to an application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office August 2. The application outlines systems and methods for managing smart appliances such as a desktop or server computer, a kiosk, a tabletop device, or more portable computing devices, such as a wearable or gaming devices, laptop computers, or portable media players. From a practical perspective, users will employ a device, whether it is wearable or not, that maintains the private key used to authorize a transaction. One use …

Consulting giant Accenture has plans to use blockchain to upgrade its logistics network, a patent application published July 26 reveals. According to the document published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the corporation wants to follow in the footsteps of various major players in leveraging blockchain to secure, speed up and increase the efficiency of logistics movements. “A device may receive an indication that a product has arrived at a destination. The product may have been shipped by an entity to the destination,” the patent’s abstract begins, elaborating: “The device may perform an analysis on the product to …

Last week, news of at least three major players applying for blockchain-related patents emerged: Bank of America sought to legally protect its blockchain-based system allowing the external validation of data, Barclays filed two patent applications relating to the transfer of digital currency and blockchain data storage, while MasterCard’s application mentioned a form of a public blockchain-based method for linking assets between blockchain and fiat accounts. As blockchain technology continues to be one of the most discussed things in 2018 and a subject for mass adoption, the number of crypto-related patents is steadily growing — and with patent trolls joining the …

The world’s fourth-largest telecoms provider, Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), has filed a patent for using blockchain tech for contract agreement, according to a U.S. Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO) release on July 19. NTT’s patent application writes that a problem with contracts on blockchain is that each transactions “contains only the electronic signature of the sender” as the “evidence of contract agreement by the receiver is not left in the transaction.” The patent suggests a “simple, possible way to solve this problem is to, for example, include the electronic signatures of all the involved parties in one transaction.” …

Barclays has filed two patent applications relating to the transfer of digital currency and blockchain data storage, both published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) July 19. The first patent describes a system for transferring digital currency from payer to recipient that would securely authenticate the identities of both, as well as validating and recording transactions using public-key cryptography and a digital currency ledger. Beyond currency transfer, the patent goes on to describe a wide range of use cases for securely and privately processing data in a trustless manner using a blockchain system. One illustration outlines how claims …

JPMorgan Chase & Co has filed a new patent for a system that leverages blockchain for the management of virtual receipts backed by assets or bonds, according to a US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent filing published July 19. The new patent, titled “Systems and methods for management of asset or obligation-backed virtual receipts on a distributed system,” includes a new form of a public blockchain-based method for the management of virtual receipts, which can take the form of tokens. The document describes Virtual Depositary Receipts, or "Virtual Receipts," as “asset or obligation-backed electronic tokens.” The new method would …

San-Francisco-based bank Wells Fargo has outlined a patent for a tokenization system that would protect data, according to a filing published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) July 17. The newly published application details a system in which any type of data element — whether a document, graphic, or database value — could be located, accessed, and protected by means of tokenization. Tokenization, as the patent filing outlines, uses encryption methods to process an originally unrestricted data element into a corresponding restricted token that can subsequently only be retrieved — or ‘detokenized’ — by a specified user. The …

Mastercard has filed a new patent for consumer protection and payment transactions based on blockchain technology, according to a US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent filing published July 17. The new patent application includes a new form of a public blockchain-based method for linking assets between blockchain and fiat currency accounts. Mastercard’s patent describes the method for “managing fractional reserves of blockchain currency” as storing fiat currency in one central account with a “blockchain currency” stored in a second. The system would include a “plurality of account profiles, each profile including a fiat currency amount, blockchain currency amount, account …

Financial services giant American Express (Amex) has filed a patent for a blockchain-based proof-of-payment system, according to filing published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Thursday, July 12. The patent’s applicant is listed as American Express Travel Related Services Co., Inc., Amex’s travel arm. The proposed system would automate proof-of-payments by encrypting payment payload data with a public key on an initial node of the blockchain –– the data in question comprising the merchant’s identifying information and the transaction amount. According to the patent filing, the encrypted data could then securely be propagated to a second blockchain node. …

Blockchain startup nChain, associated with a man who once proclaimed himself to be Bitcoin’s (BTC) creator, has been granted three Bitcoin Cash (BCH)-related patents by the European Patent Office (EPO), according to an official statement July 11. The three new patents relate to the development of new methods of digital rights protection using blockchain technology and specify Bitcoin Cash’s blockchain as the standard technology on which transactions are demonstrated. The first patent listed in nChain’s announcement is entitled “A method and system for verifying ownership of a digital asset using a distributed hash table and a peer-to-peer distributed ledger,” while …

U.S. retail giant Walmart’s latest blockchain-related patent application describes a “secure” delivery management system, according to a filing published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) July 5. The newly published application, entitled "Delivery Reservation Apparatus and Method," outlines a blockchain-based management system for delivery lockers that can keep delivered items safe until their purchasers are able to sign for and collect them. A “blockchain reservation” system is proposed for “some embodiments” of a system to track which lockers are free, and which are occupied: "Each space on the docking station has a corresponding capacity unit for each location …