Windows operating system and Office productivity suite have always been top performers on any software piracy platforms. So, it’s no wonder that Microsoft, the developer of both products, works hard to establish anti-piracy measures. In a new paper released by Microsoft’s research department, with the participation of researchers from Alibaba and Carnegie Mellon University, the Redmond-based software giant studied a blockchain-based incentive system to bolster anti-piracy campaigns. As the title of the research, “Argus: A Fully Transparent Incentive System for Anti-Piracy Campaigns,” suggests, Microsoft’s new system relies on the transparency aspect of blockchain technology. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Argus …

An Internet Court in Hangzhou, Eastern China, has turned to blockchain to fight piracy at the expense of online writers, English-language media outlet China.org.cn reports Dec. 8. China has reportedly “set up three Internet courts in Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou.” Internet Courts are courts expressly intended to manage internet-related cases and allow plaintiffs to file their complaints online. The official website of Hangzhou Internet Court reads that it “behave[s] as an ‘incubator’ for Internet space governance, a ‘test field’ for Internet judicial rules, a ‘leader’ for diversified Internet disputes, and a ‘first mover’ for the transformation of Internet trials.” Hangzhou, …

Television industry research firm Digital TV Research forecasted last year that the revenue loss of TV series and films due to online piracy would reach $52 billion by 2022. Since this figure doesn’t factor in the revenue that would be lost to the piracy of sport, games, pay TV and other forms of media content, the sense is that the cost of piracy to the media industry is much larger than $52 billion. The reality is that blockchain — as of today — isn’t ready to eradicate piracy. Moreover, any digital media created for human consumption can be captured and …