U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) received a new patent filing from none other than Lenovo. Lenovo is a Chinese multinational company that mainly deals with PC hardware. However, the patent is not related to PC hardware, but it is a for a system that can be used to verify physical documents. The verification is done using Blockchain technology.
The news for the patent only came to light after it got published. However, the patent application by Lenovo submitted four months ago, i.e., in August 2016.
So, how does the verification of the documents work? According to the patent, the document will have to use digital signatures to make it work. Until now, documents are only verified using physical signatures. The signature gave the proof that it has not been modified from its original content.
With Blockchain, all of this will change. In the patent’s summary, it is mentioned that a processor will be used for “integrity symbol” identity. The symbol will be in the document. It will convert the integrity symbol to so-called, “integrity map.” Finally, the integrity map will be matched with the physical document to check the document integrity and verify it.
In the patent, Lenovo mentions the whole process in their own words. They also added, “that they have the current authentic physical document even if multiple paper copies exist and multiple people have made entries in the chain of modification.” If multiple, fake copies of a physical document came into existence, they would “show up as orphaned blocks in the chain.”
The blockchain is booming with every passing day, and it common to see companies do patents for blockchain related technology. Despite all the good news, China is not in favor of Blockchain and has already blocked cryptocurrency exchanges and also issues bans on ICOs. Despite that, Lenovo went forward and filed that patent.