SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING RIGHTS RELATED TO DIGITAL KNOWLEDGE

Abstract

Systems and methods for controlling rights related to digital knowledge are disclosed. The system may include an input system to receive a three-dimensional (3D) printer instructions set for printing a 3D project; a tokenization system to tokenize the digital knowledge and a ledger management system to store the tokenized digital knowledge. The system may further include a smart contract system to implement a smart contract via the distributed ledger, perform a smart contract action with respect to the tokenized digital knowledge in response to an occurrence of a triggering event; process commitments of a plurality of parties to the smart contract; and manage rights of control of and access to the tokenized digital knowledge according to the smart contract. The distributed ledger includes a plurality of cryptographically linked blocks distributed over a plurality of nodes of a network.

Claims

1. A knowledge distribution system for controlling rights related to digital knowledge, the system comprising: an input system configured to receive, from a knowledge provider device, an instance of digital knowledge comprising a three-dimensional (3D) printer instruction set for 3D printing an object; a tokenization system configured to tokenize the digital knowledge such that the instance of digital knowledge is manipulable as a token; a ledger management system configured to: create and manage a distributed ledger; store smart contracts via the distributed ledger; and store the tokenized digital knowledge via the distributed ledger; a smart contract system in communication with the distributed ledger and configured to: implement and manage a smart contract, wherein the smart contract comprises a triggering event and a corresponding smart contract action; perform a smart contract action with respect to the digital knowledge in response to an occurrence of the triggering event, process commitments of the knowledge provider and a knowledge recipient of the 3D printer instruction set to the smart contract; manage rights of control of and access to the tokenized digital knowledge according to the smart contract; and manage the smart contract action according to a condition and the triggering event, wherein the distributed ledger comprises a plurality of cryptographically linked blocks distributed over a plurality of nodes of a network.

2. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the 3D printer instruction set comprises a 3D printing schematic.

3. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the object comprises a custom part, a custom product, a manufacturing part, a replacement part, a toy, a medical device, or a tool.

4. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the smart contract action comprises providing the 3D printer instruction set to a knowledge recipient device configured to download and use the 3D printer instruction set, wherein the knowledge recipient device is a computing device, a server, a 3D printer, or a manufacturing device.

5. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the smart contract action comprises: receiving a purchase request from a knowledge recipient device or fulfilling a purchase request from a knowledge recipient device, wherein the purchase request comprises a request to purchase the tokenized digital knowledge corresponding to the 3D printer instruction set.

6. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, further comprising an event monitoring module configured to monitor an application programming interface (API) configured to provide a connection between the knowledge distribution system and a knowledge recipient device of the knowledge recipient.

7. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the triggering event comprises a transfer of the 3D printer instructions, or a use of the 3D instructions; and wherein, based on the rights of control of and access to the tokenized digital knowledge, the smart contract action comprises generating a payment request of the knowledge recipient.

8. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the rights of control of and access to the tokenized digital knowledge comprise a permission for a user to 3D print using multiple instances of the 3D printer instruction set.

9. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the rights of control of and access to the tokenized digital knowledge comprise: a 3D printer requirement, a time period during which the object can be 3D printed, whether the tokenized digital knowledge is transferred to a downstream knowledge recipient, a warranty, a disclaimer, an indemnification, or a certification with respect to the object.

10. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the triggering event is a transfer of the 3D printer instructions, or a use of the 3D instructions; and wherein, based on the rights of control of and access to the tokenized digital knowledge, the smart contract action modifies, on the distributed ledger, when the 3D printer instruction set is purchased, downloaded, or used.

11. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the 3D printer instruction set comprises: an origin, a date of creation, a name of a contributing individual, a group, or a company, a price, a market trend for a related schematic, a serial number, or a part identifier.

12. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the smart contract action comprises: assigning a serial number to the object that is 3D printed, monitoring for the triggering event, verifying fulfillment of an obligation based on the condition, verifying payment or transfer of the tokenized digital knowledge, transferring the tokenized digital knowledge, logging one or more transactions in the distributed ledger, performing one or more operations with respect to the distributed ledger, or creating one or more new blocks in the distributed ledger.

13. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, wherein the smart contract action comprises verifying that the condition is met, wherein the condition is: a printer requirement, a payment received, a currency transferred from a knowledge recipient device of the knowledge recipient, or a transfer of the tokenized digital knowledge to the knowledge recipient device.

14. The knowledge distribution system of claim 1, further comprising a smart contract generator configured to parametrize a smart contract template based on: information provided by the knowledge provider, the condition, or the triggering event.