As the prevalence of piracy and illegal streaming platforms loom large, blockchain used for anti-piracy measures could be a groundbreaking approach to protecting intellectual property. Digital piracy continues to plague creative industries, costing the U.S. economy an estimated $30 billion in lost revenue. This ultimately undermines the hard work of content creators and can stunt innovation and creativity.
As illegal streaming and unauthorized content distribution reach unprecedented levels, with illegal streaming sites receiving 126.7 billion views in the U.S. annually, software engineers are turning to blockchain as a powerful weapon in the fight against digital theft.
What Is Blockchain Technology?
Blockchain technology is the newest advent in digital record-keeping. At its core, blockchain is a decentralized, distributed ledger that records transactions across multiple computers. Unlike traditional databases, blockchain creates a “chain” of information where each new transaction or piece of data is added as a “block” that cannot be altered or deleted. This creates an unprecedented level of transparency and security that makes it extremely difficult for bad actors to manipulate or steal digital content.
The Challenges of Digital Piracy
Unfortunately, online spaces have become digital battlegrounds for content creators, with piracy proving to be a formidable and increasingly sophisticated threat to Hollywood, the music industry, and other creative industries around the world. What was once a relatively simple issue of unauthorized copying has transformed into a worldwide network of illegal content distribution, including torrent networks, file sharing, and advanced criminal ecosystems.
Digital piracy has become a global epidemic with devastating consequences for content creators. Legitimate streaming services, law enforcement, and tight holders face an uphill battle:
- Accessibility: The widespread availability of illegal streaming platforms that operate across international borders makes online piracy cheaper and seemingly easier than authorized alternatives.
- Innovation: Piracy tacts are rapidly evolving from recent years to circumvent traditional digital rights management strategies, like digital watermarking technology. These advancements make digital piracy hard to predict and difficult to thwart.
- Distribution: Unauthorized content distribution systems often outpace traditional supply chains and distributors, so pirated media files are often available before legitimate versions, especially in geo-restricted countries.
- Lost Revenue: Massive financial losses across multiple industries, including film, music, gaming, and publishing, make it that much harder to collect the necessary funds to effectively fight back.
- International Cooperation: Even though piracy comes with severe legal consequences domestically, when it comes to international cooperation incoordination, copyright infringement can be hard to pursue and difficult to prosecute.
How Blockchain Could Help Reduce Piracy
Digital piracy demands innovative solutions. Blockchain technology addresses the fundamental vulnerabilities in current systems by reimagining how digital content is tracked, verified, and distributed:
Content Ownership Verification
Blockchain technology provides a brand-new method of verifying and tracking digital content ownership. By creating an unchangeable record of the original media creation and subsequent purchases or transfers, content creators can see exactly where their content went and if anyone accessed it illegally. This approach makes it much easier for creators to prove ownership of their intellectual property and call out the bad actors who abuse it.
Immutable Records
The fundamental nature of blockchain ensures that once a record is created, it cannot be altered or deleted. Essentially, these records are tamper-proof. This characteristic makes it exceptional for tracking digital assets and how they’re distributed, establishing clear origins, and maintaining a permanent, transparent record of digital rights transfers.
Traceability of Content Distribution
Blockchain tracks how content is distributed in real time and creates time-stamped records that allow creators and rights holders to monitor exactly how their intellectual property moves from one hand to another. Since each transaction is marked, it’s possible to identify and even stop unauthorized distribution quickly.
Smart Contracts for Licensing and Distribution
Blockchain-based smart contracts can automate licensing agreements, which helps make sure content is only accessed or distributed under specific, predefined conditions. These programmable contracts can automatically enforce usage rights, manage payments, and even restrict unauthorized access from suspicious entities or bad actors.
Micropayments and Pay-Per-Use Systems
Blockchain’s payment structure allows consumers to only pay for what they use. Instead of having subscriptions to entire content libraries, this approach would create a pay-per-view system, which could significantly reduce the cost of streaming. When legal access is more affordable, there’s less incentive to engage in piracy.
Tokenization of Digital Content
By creating unique digital tokens, like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), that represent specific content, blockchain can establish limits to how much of that content exists online, also known as “digital scarcity.” Each piece of content becomes a unique, trackable asset that cannot be duplicated or distributed without proper authorization.
Real-World Applications of Blockchain in Combating Piracy
Needless to say, companies like Ethereum and Bitcoin have already begun implementing blockchain solutions in the realm of finance and cryptocurrencies. However, there’s no reason that the same technology can’t help protect media content and digital rights in the streaming space.
Currently, the music industry is taking the lead in implementing this kind of technology. From investing in individual artists to sharing open-source music, rifts, and beats to further content creation, there are already tons of blockchain-based music companies and apps you can use to expand and enhance your listening experience. The new level of tracking and security that blockchain provides ensures that artists are getting the compensation they deserve while effectively blocking out pirates.
On the film side of things, companies like Chainflix and LeewayHertz are providing content creators with ways to encrypt their videos and more effectively monetize what they produce without pirates taking a cut of the profits. We at StreamSafely believe that implementing this type of technology will ultimately lead to a renaissance for independent artists and a much wider variety of genres and styles as a result.
Benefits of Using Blockchain for Anti-Piracy Efforts
The traditional methods of digital rights management have proven ineffective against online piracy. The entertainment industry urgently needs more innovative approaches that can provide comprehensive and adaptable protection. Blockchain may be the solution it needs:
- Tracking: The tokenization of content makes tracking easier and more transparent. Creators will be able to see exactly how their content is purchased and distributed.
- Decentralization: Having a decentralized platform reduces the chances of security breaches since there is no single point of failure.
- Clear Ownership: The immutable nature of blockchain can reduce and simplify legal disputes. The process leaves a clear record of every purchase and change of hands.
- Increased Revenue: Since blockchain is harder to infiltrate and its protected contents cannot be shared or reproduced without authorization, pirates will be cut off from the content they usually prey off, which will lead to more revenue going to content creators instead.
Limitations and Challenges of Blockchain in Fighting Piracy
While blockchain technology is exciting, it’s not a magic solution that can immediately resolve everything. There are still significant hurdles:
- Implementation: Blockchain-based anti-piracy systems require a high level of technological sophistication. It will be a learning curve for many and may not integrate flawlessly at first with existing systems.
- Cost: Subscribing to a blockchain-based platform or outsourcing its management to a third party may not be within the budget of smaller artists and creators.
- Mistrust: Like any new technology, it may take time for people and companies to warm up to the idea of blockchain. Limited understanding and an unwillingness to learn may hamper the technology’s progress.
- Pushback: Similarly, entrenched powers within Hollywood and other production and distribution networks may be more interested in maintaining the status quo than embracing something new.
- Scalability: Blockchain is incredibly energy-hungry. In its current form, it may not be feasible to scale to meet market demand or to be practical in large-scale scenarios.
Future of Blockchain in Digital Rights Management (DRM)
Blockchain has brilliant potential for anti-piracy measures, but that doesn’t mean it has to stand on its own. The integration of blockchain with other technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning could create a defensive strategy that is greater than the sum of its parts. These technologies could create intelligent, adaptive systems capable of predicting potential piracy attempts, automatically enforcing complex licensing agreements, and providing content creators with higher levels of control and transparency.
From independent musicians seeking fair compensation to multinational film studios with extensive intellectual properties, blockchain could become the universal approach to content protection. Though the future of digital piracy is constantly changing, blockchain may be the solution the entertainment industry needs.
How StreamSafely Can Help You Avoid Piracy
As we mentioned, blockchain technology doesn’t have to be your only failsafe against piracy, and nothing pairs with it better than ongoing education and awareness. We at StreamSafely offer a wealth of resources to help you learn how to protect yourself and protect your devices from the risks associated with malicious sites and pirated content.
By following our streaming best practices, you and your family can protect yourselves from pirated content and lower your risk of a security breach. At StreamSafely, we’ve got your back, and we’re always here to make sure you’re as protected as possible.
The fight against digital piracy is a collective effort. While blockchain offers promising solutions, it’s up to you to exercise responsible viewing practices, and we’ll be with you every step of the way. Stream safely!
