# Blockchain for Intellectual Property and Copyright Protection

> Ascribe used the Bitcoin blockchain for tamper-proof registration and verification of digital artworks and copyrights. Thousands of artists licensed their works through the platform and could thus document their intellectual property rights in a legally secure manner. The solution used Bitcoin transactions as timestamps and Bitcoin addresses as unique identifiers for digital editions.

**Sector:** Tertiary sector · **Industry:** Legal services and law firms · **Organisation:** Ascribe · **Maturity level:** Production

Canonical URL: https://www.sapientblock.com/en/use-cases/ascribe-urheberrechte-unveraenderlich-registrieren

## Documentation status

- **Project status:** Production
- **Evidence:** Evidence medium
- **Editorial review:** Ufuk Avci, 15 April 2026

## Description

Ascribe was founded in Berlin in 2015 as one of the first blockchain platforms for digital art rights. The Bitcoin Blog aptly described Ascribe in 2015: Ascribe gives creators back control over their works. The concept was ahead of its time — it anticipated what later became known as NFTs.

The fundamental problem of digital art before blockchain: digital files are perfectly reproducible. Who owns a digital painting or photo? Ascribe solved this through Bitcoin blockchain registration: the artist uploads the work; Ascribe creates a cryptographic hash of the work; this hash is anchored on the Bitcoin blockchain with the artist's wallet address as owner. Ownership transfers to buyers, licences for usage rights and assignment records — all secured on the blockchain. Ascribe worked with BigchainDB as a scalable database layer over the Bitcoin blockchain. The platform was used by art galleries, musicians and photographers. In 2018, Ascribe was discontinued. The team further developed BigchainDB. The Ascribe concept was a precursor to the ERC-721 standard (2018, Ethereum), which standardised NFTs — now a 40+ billion USD market.

## Benefits

- Companies can automate their IP portfolio management and reduce compliance costs.
- Individual artists gain affordable access to professional copyright protection without expensive intermediaries.
- Blockchain technology offers immutable and tamper-proof documentation of copyrights.
- Significantly reduced costs compared to traditional registration procedures make copyright protection accessible to smaller players.
- The decentralised nature of the blockchain eliminates single points of failure and increases system availability.
- Legal staff can focus on more complex advisory tasks instead of routine documentation duties.

## Challenges

- Integration into existing enterprise systems requires technical expertise and adjustments.
- Dependence on Bitcoin transaction fees can lead to unpredictable costs during high network load.
- User-friendliness of blockchain technologies remains a challenge for laypersons.
- Employees need to understand basic blockchain concepts to use the technology effectively.

## Technology foundation

The system was based on the Bitcoin blockchain, which acted as an immutable register for copyrights. Bitcoin transactions served as timestamps for registration, while private keys enabled proof of ownership and Bitcoin addresses were used as unique identifiers for digital works.

## Sources

- [Ascribe gibt den Urhebern die Macht über ihre Werke zurück](https://bitcoinblog.de/2015/09/24/ascribe-gibt-den-urhebern-die-macht-ueber-ihre-werke-zurueck/)