Kazakhstan-based firm explores blockchain for IP protection

Amid a rising government crackdown on digital currencies and block reward mining, one Kazakhstan-based firm has turned to blockchain technology for copyright and intellectual property (IP) protection.

Future NFT Technology Limited established its copyright protection platform in the latter part of 2023 to register the IP rights of residents. Astana Times reported the platform had gathered significant steam, racking up hundreds of copyright registrations in under 60 days.

Called the Central Asian Intellectual Property Registry (CARRIP), the platform allows users to upload details of their creations under several categories. Upon the payment of a fee, creators receive a certificate designed to operate as proof of registration of the intellectual property.

Registered creations are stored in a publicly distributed ledger to ensure transparency and prove the time and date of registration. Users can give approval to other entities to use their copyrights under specific parameters after meeting certain conditions, including the payment of fees.

“The idea of the creative economy is to monetize talents,” said CARRIP executive Temirlan Tulegenov. “Kazakhstan joined the international conventions and treaties in the field of intellectual property, but the intellectual property rights market requires adaptation to modern trends in the development of the creative economy.”

CARRIP may expand its services outside Kazakhstan to include Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicates that Central Asia is making significant strides in stimulating growth in its creative industries.

Experts have pointed to blockchain-based copyright platforms as a veritable solution to trigger growth in the creative sectors. Given the copyright challenges faced by generative AI systems, a cross-section of industry players have looked to use blockchain to trace the provenance of data used in training the large language models (LLMs).

Kazakhstan’s work with blockchain

Kazakhstan has endured a chequered relationship with blockchain since 2020, culminating in the stringent rules against block reward miners. Following China’s blanket ban on digital currencies, a swathe of miners migrated to Kazakhstan, drawn by cheap energy sources and a friendly government stance.

However, the rosy times turned sour after the government launched a nationwide crackdown against industry service providers. Block reward miners were the hardest hit, with officials confirming that the country earned $7 million in taxes from miners, banning
Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) from operating within its borders for violating extant rules.