Large corporations have armies of lawyers and lobbyists, political influence and connections in law enforcement. They hire thousands of employees to search for information about offenses and prevent them. And what about small businesses that do not have large financial resources? How to protect yourself? The answer to these questions is provided by the project StopTheFakes.io , which has built a blockchain system for combating counterfeit on a global scale.

Operating principle

The service uses blockchain technology to register information about violations. Users are invited to assist copyright holders in the search for counterfeit and cases of piracy for remuneration in cryptocurrency. The use of technology allows you to significantly reduce costs - the system participants do not need to pay additional fees and charges, transactions pass as quickly as possible.

Information collected by volunteers is stored in cloud storages operating on IPFS. The data of each message is recorded in the blockchain, which ensures their immutability. This design is needed to ensure that the right holders receive reliable and, most importantly, non-modifiable and not deleted information.

The service collects in one place people who want to get information and those who can provide it. Previously, such a project could not be implemented on a global scale. For example, between the American copyright holder and the law-abiding consumer from a developing country, there were many obstacles in the form of flaws in the old payment systems, local bureaucracy and incomplete legislation. But the use of smart contracts, blockchain and cryptocurrency allows to overcome these barriers.

Here are real-life examples of how even the smallest entrepreneurs can resist pirates and increase the profitability of their business.

Situation 1: street trading

To win the sympathy of people on the street is extremely difficult. It is necessary to give all the best for 100% and to offer the best quality of goods and services. Take for example the sale of baking. Hot cakes, buns, snacks. The entrepreneur opens a mini-bakery and begins to fight for the client. He does not sleep at night to make the perfect dough and prepare the filling.

When the quality of the product begins to attract customers, it creates its own brand. He orders paper bags with his company logo from printers, writes delivery service numbers on it. He does not have the time and money to go through the whole procedure of registering a trademark and invest in its promotion. A small batch of printing, the work of a novice designer and personal quality control of products is the maximum that he can afford.

Buns are a success, and the number of customers is growing. And here competitors come into play. They begin to sell less quality products using the same corporate identity, and sometimes the logo of a successful entrepreneur. The value of the brand begins to fall, and with it the profit of the entrepreneur.

Problem

Fighting unfair competition is extremely difficult for small businesses. If our businessman starts driving around the city and looking for fakes, there will be no one to bake rolls. He simply does not have time to do it.

Solution using StopTheFakes.io

An entrepreneur spends just five minutes to form an application to search for unscrupulous competitors. The application is unlimited, it only indicates the monthly budget for the search. The application is offered to all performers living in the same city. They find violations, take photographs, remove coordinates and send them to the entrepreneur through the system.

He receives information about the appearance of fakes literally on the first day after their appearance. Quick response allows you to resolve the conflict amicably or resort to the help of law enforcement. Perhaps one of the violators will even agree to cooperate. An entrepreneur can find partners and start building a large network.

Elimination of the offense

The system will automatically generate motivated claims and send them to each of the violators. The entrepreneur will be provided with the coordinates of specialized trade associations that can provide him with legal and other support.

Situation 2: freelancing

In the 21st century, the number of self-employed people has increased significantly. Photographers, designers of clothes and printing, artists, webmasters, copywriters and representatives of other creative professions work at home and provide their services directly to customers. To make a name for themselves, they need to constantly replenish their portfolio and post materials in the public domain. The competition is high, so you need to show your best work in order to find good clients.

Problem

Unscrupulous webmasters, some online media and owners of commercial groups on social networks often steal someone else's content. The creators of visual content - photos, drawings, infographics - are at particular risk. And why buy, if the copyright holder simply can not keep up with how the fruits of his work are spreading over the network? Freelancer can not afford to waste time searching for offenses.

Solution using StopTheFakes.io

As in the previous example, it is enough to spend only a few minutes on the formation of a permanent application. But not only the neighbors of our freelancer, but also all other Internet users will be involved in the search. Stolen content will be in minutes.

Freelancers will not even need to counteract violators, contact the search engines or law enforcement agencies. After all, he laid out his work in order to find customers. It will be enough just to publish on your site the signals received from the performers from the StopTheFakes.io system. A great addition to the portfolio - documented facts of mass distribution of content.

Of course, you can still send letters to all offenders and offer them to pay at least a symbolic price for the stolen materials. In any case, the freelancer will be able to increase their income.

Elimination of the offense

The system will automatically create and send claims to each site owner who illegally uses the content. It will indicate that if they do not take measures to remove the content, or do not agree with the copyright holder on payment, the following steps will be taken. In this case, the system will send the request to hosting providers, domain name registrars and search engines with the requirement to block the offending website. As practice shows, these measures are quite enough to effectively solve the problem.

Situation 3: designer accessories

The most common type of private enterprise in the world is the production of original products with their own hands. Souvenirs, women's jewelry, clothing items, handbags and accessories - people do original things in artisanal conditions and sell them at markets and fairs. To attract customers, they have to not only work hard on quality, but also create original designs. The product does not have a logo of a well-known brand. To make consumers buy it, you need to guarantee their exclusivity.

Problem

Big brands often sin theft of ideas from handicraft manufacturers. Designers of well-known brands sometimes go to flea markets in search of new ideas. Then they copy partially or completely seen and release to the mass market under their own brand.

The authors of original ideas simply can not keep track of all the new items from leading brands. They do not have time to go to fashion boutiques and look for copies of their products.

Solution using StopTheFakes.io

A permanent application is a powerful weapon. Small manufacturers do not even need to think about how the system works. He only lays out images of his work and waits until the multi-million army of performers finds something similar in major retail chains. If copies of products do not appear, the author does not need to expend funds. He makes a symbolic amount for finding one violation and waits. When the first fake appears, you can replenish your account again and continue your search.

Finding a copy of your product in the collection of a famous brand is akin to winning the lottery. The author can become a millionaire or get a high-paying job in a large company. Indeed, at his disposal will be undeniable evidence that he was the first to propose an original idea.

Elimination of the offense

Claims will be generated and sent to violators. Information on the offense will receive specialized trade associations, including those in which there are offenders. If the conflict is not resolved amicably, the violators will also be entered in a single registry that works on the blockchain. The whole world will know about their illegal activities.