提到區塊鏈專利的申請人，通常會想到的大多是新創公司 (start-up)，但美國銀行(Bank of America)顯然不想在未來可能發生的區塊鏈海嘯中被吞噬或被邊緣化，其從2015年11月開始陸續申請了區塊鏈相關的專利，至本文截稿前的公開資料總共有32件專利申請案。一探美國銀行過往的專利申請量，可以發現其在技術研發的智財保護上投入不少資源，自2009年起每年都有超過一百件以上的專利申請，2012到2016年每年的申請量都在四百件上下。
美國銀行申請的區塊鏈專利分布在不同的應用上，礙於篇幅此處僅挑幾件列出作為代表，例如：「使用區塊鏈與智慧合約的透明自我管理獎勵計畫(TRANSPARENT SELF-MANAGING REWARDS PROGRAM USING BLOCKCHAIN AND SMART CONTRACTS)」、「用於人對人付款的區塊鏈別名(BLOCK CHAIN ALIAS FOR PERSON-TO-PERSON PAYMENTS)」、「用於分散式資源狀態的外部確認之系統(SYSTEM FOR EXTERNAL VALIDATION OF DISTRIBUTED RESOURCE STATUS)」、「用於橫越多個網路節點執行分散式賬本的系統(SYSTEM FOR IMPLEMENTING A DISTRIBUTED LEDGER ACROSS MULTIPLE NETWORK NODES)」、「使用區塊鏈應用來轉換大規格電子程序的系統(SYSTEM FOR TRANSFORMING LARGE SCALE ELECTRONIC PROCESSING USING APPLICATION BLOCK CHAIN)」。
以下是前述6件專利的整理表，其被分配到的技術單位(art unit)是2430/2490密碼學與安全(Cryptography and Security)。
表1. 6件美國銀行區塊鏈專利之核駁整理表
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申請號
發明名稱
101核駁
101核駁概要以及所引用的判例
1
15/049,605
SYSTEM FOR CONTROL OF SECURE ACCESS AND COMMUNICATION WITH DIFFERENT PROCESS DATA NETWORKS WITH SEPARATE SECURITY FEATURES
無
n/a
2
15/049,777
SYSTEM FOR ESTABLISHING SECURE ACCESS FOR USERS IN A PROCESS DATA NETWORK
有
Step 2A與2B
只是實施普通電腦功能(熟知的、例行程序的、以及相關領域先前已知的常見活動)
無引用判例
3
15/050,084
SYSTEM FOR TRACKING AND VALIDATION OF AN ENTITY IN A PROCESS DATA NETWORK
無(直接核准)
n/a
4
15/050,094
SYSTEM FOR CONVERSION OF AN INSTRUMENT FROM A NON-SECURED INSTRUMENT TO A SECURED INSTRUMENT IN A PROCESS DATA NETWORK
有
Step 2A與2B
只是收集、組織、以及比較已知的資訊
Collecting and comparing known information (Classen)
Collecting information, analyzing it and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis (Electric Power Group)
Data recognition and storage (Content Extraction)
An algorithm for calculating parameters indicating an abnormal condition (Grams)
Comparing information regarding a sample or test subject to a control or target data (Ambry/Myriad)
Obtaining and comparing intangible data (CyberSource)
Delivering user‐selected media content to portable devices (Affinity Labs v. Amazon.com)
Remotely accessing and retrieving user specified information (Int. Venture)
Calculating the difference between local and average data values (Abele); A mathematical formula for hedging (Bilski claims 4‐8, 10, 11); An algorithm for calculating parameters indicating an abnormal condition (Grams)
5
15/050,358
SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING LEVELS OF SECURITY ACCESS TO A PROCESS DATA NETWORK
有
Step 2A與2B
只是收集、組織、以及比較已知的資訊
判例A~F同15/050,094
Creating an index, and use that index to search for and retrieve data (Int. Venture)
Remotely accessing and retrieving user specified information (Int. Venture)
Generating rule-based tasks for processing an insurance claim (Bancorp)
6
15/050,375
SYSTEM FOR EXTERNAL VALIDATION OF SECURE PROCESS TRANSACTIONS
有
Step 2A與2B
只是收集、組織、以及比較已知的資訊
判例A~H同15/050,094
Generating rule-based tasks for processing an insurance claim (Bancorp)
“A system operatively connected with a block chain distributed network and for using the block chain distributed network for ensuring information security, the system comprising:
a memory device; and
a processing device operatively coupled to the memory device, wherein the processing device is configured to execute computer-readable program code to:
receive an authorization request from a user to conduct an action associated with a block chain distributed network;
determine a security level associated with the user;
authorize the user to conduct the action when the action is allowed under the determined security level associated with the user; and
do not authorize the user to conduct the action when the action is not allowed under the determined security level of the user. ”
