- VeChain has filed a patent application in the United States for tracking NFC tags using the blockchain in a supply chain context.
- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has not yet made an evaluation.
As discovered by the VeChain community on Reddit, an application was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by VeChain Global Technology, S.AR.L (Luxembourg) back in February 2019, and has now been published on December 10. The patent application describes a method that uses an application server, a blockchain node, and computer-readable storage media to logistically track an object.
Simply put, it is a patent application for tracking NFC tags, commonly referred to as IoT devices in the application, on the blockchain. One community member commented on the patent via Reddit, saying, “Kinda looks like VeChain patenting digital supply chain…is that even real lol.”
While the statement is not entirely accurate, as the patent relates exclusively to the supply chain industry, the fact that VeChain is filing the patent in the U.S. has nonetheless created a lot of buzz in the community.
VeChain’s patent application in detail
In current logistics solutions, a barcode is placed at the beginning of an object’s shipment to track the supply chain process. However, according to the patent application, these barcodes are easily copied and can be attached to other items. In addition, all logistics information is stored on a central server of the logistics company and can therefore be easily manipulated or stolen.
In contrast, VeChain’s solution, which still requires approval from the patent office in the U.S., proposes a decentralized solution. Here, the application server comprises a memory and a processor, with the memory storing machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the application server to execute and perform operations such as the
[…] receiving a storage request from at least one node during a logistics process of the object; performing a hash operation on the information to obtain a hash value of the information; sending the hash value of the information and the information to a distributed database for storage; and sending the unique identification number of the object and the hash value of the information to a blockchain platform for storage.
According to VeChain, these operations can ensure that the object being transported is not replaced during the transport process and that the object’s information is not leaked or tampered with. This is ensured as follows, according to the filing:
[…] receiving a storage request from an application server, the storage request including a unique identification number of the object and a hash value of information of the object at at least one node during a logistics process of the object, wherein the unique identification number of the object is a public key of an IoT device that is inseparable from the object during the logistics process; and distributing the unique identification number of the object and the hash value of the information to one or more other blockchain nodes by using a smart contract.