Alibaba Group has become the world’s largest holder of blockchain patents. Stockapps.com has presented data showing that the Chinese e-commerce giant had 2,588 active or pending patents in 2021. In doing so, it topped the charts for most patent filings related to blockchain technology (BC).
The firm has been investing heavily in BC as part of its plan to transform its supply chain and logistics businesses. In 2017, Alibaba won a patent for a blockchain-based product tracking system that would enable the detection of counterfeit products.
StockApps’ Edith Reads isn’t surprised by Alibaba’s move. She holds, “Alibaba’s dominance in this field is due to its commitment to innovation and forward-thinking. The company has been investing heavily in research and development for years, even before cryptos popularized blockchain.”
Why is Alibaba keen on Blockchain investments?
The Chinese e-commerce giant’s patent activity is part of an aggressive strategy to defend its business model against its competition. Competitors like Amazon and Walmart are also looking at reducing costs by adopting BC.
Besides streamlining their supply chains, they seek to use the technology to offer consumers new ways of shopping online or offline.
We can trace Alibaba’s blockchain portfolio back to the first patent application it filed in 2015 for a smart contract system. Since then, the company has filed more than two thousand applications related to blockchain technology.
Where is Alibaba deploying Blockchain tech?
Other areas where Alibaba Group has made strides in applying BC technology include financial services, cloud computing, and logistics management. The company’s Ant Financial Services unit owns and operates Sesame Credit, a credit scoring system based on BC technology. The platform provides users with an indicator of their social credit score based on their behavior on popular apps like WeChat.
Additionally, It runs an accelerator program for startups in this space and set up a dedicated research lab on blockchain technology. The firm’s smart city platform, City Brain, is helping to manage 23 cities across Asia. The platform runs on Blockchain.
Protecting intellectual property
In August 2017, Alibaba Group unveiled its first blockchain-based intellectual property (IP) protection platform: Alibaba IP Protect. The platform uses blockchain technology to help companies protect their IP rights across multiple jurisdictions and industries.
Alibaba IP Protect helps users manage their IP rights through a single interface. It enables them to identify potential infringement issues without spending time searching for each case individually. It also gives them access to legal advice about solving these problems. This way, they can make better business decisions.
About Alibaba
Alibaba Group is a Chinese multinational e-commerce company headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. It is one of the world’s largest retailers by gross merchandise volume. The group was founded by Jack Ma and his colleagues on 4 April 1999, and it provides retail, cloud computing, and digital media services through its Alibaba website and mobile apps.
The company also has a strong foothold in China’s growing internet finance sector and an emerging fintech business with its Ant Financial spinoff.
In addition to its core e-commerce platform, Alibaba operates some of China’s most popular social media platforms, including Sina Weibo. These have millions active users combined – alongside numerous other online businesses.
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