Amazon receives patent for blockchain product authentication system

The largest online retailer Amazon has patented a system based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) forauthentication of consumer goods.

Last week the Bureau of Patent Registration andUnited States Trademark Office (USPTO) approved Amazon's DLT certification application almost three years ago. The application describes a blockchain-based system for transmitting "digital trust from the moment of production of the goods and throughout the supply chain."

The system collects data from distributors,manufacturers and shippers within the framework of the “open infrastructure”, which ensures the dissemination of information about the origin of the product in information repositories. These data can be demonstrated to the consumer, as shown in the drawings attached to the patent.

The system provides for the provision of customerstransparent information about the origin of the product they purchased. In its application description, Amazon ridiculed "the proliferation of systems and databases that often lack transparency, consistency, integrity, or security." Such systems, according to the company, can undermine trust.

In addition, such disparate technologies do notcover the global supply chain. The company claims that despite its technical flaws, distributed systems offer a convincing solution to supply chain tracking problems.

DLT can protect data from change, eliminatesingle points of system failure and avoid the problems characteristic of centralized systems. Amazon’s application also says that Hyperledger may be a form of DLT used to implement the proposed system.

Recall that a year ago, Amazon received a patent forvarious methods of creating a cryptographic system based on PoW consensus. In addition, last year the company opened a general access to the service for the development of the blockchain. Amazon previously announced the launch of the ICON Development Network project, which will allow developers to "launch ICON's private blockchain through AWS without too much difficulty."

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