2018 EU Blockathon Challenge kicks off in Brussels, June 22, 2018
On Friday, 11 teams joined the 2018 EU Blockathon Challenge in Brussels for 48 hours of coding and co-creation. The hackathon, an initiative by the European Commission (EC) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), seeks to build the next level anti-counterfeiting infrastructure for the European Union (EU) powered by blockchain technology.
The 11 teams of coders, blockchain experts and stakeholders are competing for a EUR 100,000 prize and have just two days to create tools for enforcement authorities to rapidly identify fakes and criminal activity, all the while helping legitimate companies protect their business assets and enabling consumers to make informed, genuine, choices.
2018 EU Blockathon, June 22, 2018
Infringements of intellectual property, such as counterfeiting and piracy, cost legitimate businesses EUR 90 billion and reduce employment by around 800 000 jobs every year. It also poses a challenge for consumers who are often confused about whether a product is authentic or not. In 2017, over 35 % of EU consumers, or around 150 million in total, wondered whether a product purchased was real or fake. That same year, 10% of EU consumers, or around 43 million citizens, were tricked into buying a fake product instead of a genuine one.
The organizers of the 2018 EU Blockathon said the event was aimed at bringing together the best coders and creative minds to unlock the potential of blockchain and co-create an integrated solution to combat counterfeiting.
“The EUIPO is determined to explore the potential of blockchain to interconnect systems and ensure security and immutability of shared data in order to add trust to our legitimate ecosystem for the benefits of citizens, enforcers and companies alike,” said António Campinos, the executive director of the EUIPO. “We believe a strong
