Incentive Cloud Funding System with Blockchain Security for Internal Innovation by Organizations

Abstract

Cloud funding for innovation involves the step of distributing a proposal with an explanation of the project idea, the amount of funds requested, and the time frame for raising the funds. Ownership of the project is transferred to the entity or between entities, and the entity receives donations from donors, converts each received donation into a corresponding amount of virtual coins, performs blockchain operations on the coins, and adds the donations to the funds. The virtual coins are subject to blockchain operations to uniquely identify and track them, establishing trust in transactions between donors and entities or between entities. If the funding goal is completed within the time frame, the entity converts the coins into fiat currency and releases the money to the requester. After the completion of the project, the entity determines whether the project was successful and can commercialize successful projects. For certain successful projects, the entity can also distribute funds to the donors.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Crowdfunding is a way to fund a project by raising many small amounts of money from a large group of people. One example is the Kickstarter innovation website by Kickstarter, Inc. (based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, USA). The Kickstarter site can be used to fund creative projects via crowdfunding, using Kickstarter which retains a portion of the funds as its fee. The project creator retains full ownership. Supporters often help fund their friends' projects and can see the creative process as the project progresses. Supporters can also receive copies of completed creative works such as books or CDs. Since the project creator retains ownership of the project, this type of funding may not be desirable for corporate funding of projects or ideas where a company wants to retain ownership of the project for commercialization if the project is successful.

Summary of the Invention

[0002] The computer-implemented method of cloud funding for innovation according to the present invention includes the step of distributing a proposal with an explanation of the project idea, the amount of funds requested, and a time frame for raising the funds. Ownership of the project is transferred to the entity. In response to the proposal, the entity receives contributions from donors, and for each received contribution, the entity converts the contribution into a corresponding amount of coins subject to blockchain operations and adds the contribution to the funds. The entity releases an amount of money corresponding to the amount of coins in the funds if the funding goal is met within the time frame and within the amount of bank funds available for the project. The entity determines whether the project has been successful after the money has been released. If the project is successful, the entity can optionally distribute funds or bonuses converted from the coins to the donors.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0003] The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein and form a part of this specification, and together with the description, explain the advantages and principles of the present invention. In the figures,

Figure 1

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Embodiments of the present invention include a combination of a crowdsourcing idea generation electronic website and crowdsourcing funding for corporate innovation. The actual funding is derived from internal corporate sources based on donations from individuals. This is because the ideas and projects created, funded, and ultimately generated are the sole property of the company using that crowd. However, the decision of what to fund is entirely delegated to the individuals (internal crowd) who independently decide to invest funds in the projects and ideas. Ideas are similarly crowdsourced. This combination provides, for example, a new way for corporate innovation and commercialization of ideas. Examples of cloud funding systems for innovation are disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 10,896,391 and 10,740,734, and both U.S. Patent Nos. 10,896,391 and 10,740,734 are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth.

[0005] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system for incentive-based cloud funding. The system includes donor computers 10, 20, and 22 for use when donating to a project. Donor computer 10 can include a processor 12, an input device 14 for receiving information or commands, an electronic display device 16 for displaying information, and an output device 18 for outputting information in other forms such as audible information. Donor computers 20 and 22 can include the same components as donor computer 10 or can be configured similarly. The donor computers are electronically coupled to a network 24 such as the Internet or a corporate intranet. An entity computer system 26 is also electronically coupled to network 24. The entity computer system 26 can include computer applications used within a large or small organization, and such a system can include computers for hosting email (e-mail), accounting systems, record-keeping systems, electronic databases, and internal websites. Only three donor computers are shown for illustrative purposes, and the system can scale to include a large enough number of donor computers coupled to entity computer system 26 via network 24 to fund a project. The entity can be, for example, a company, a partnership, or other organization involved in the development of ideas for innovation. The entity controls the entity computer system 26 either directly or indirectly.

[0006] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method 30 for receiving a proposal for cloud funding. The method 30 can be implemented in software for execution by a computer, such as one of a donor computer or other computer coupled to the entity computer system 26 via the network 24. In method 30, a requester electronically submits a funding proposal (step 32). The requester can be a person, such as an employee or consultant of the entity. The requester can also be a group of people, such as a team of employees of the entity.

[0007] FIG. 4 is a diagram of a user interface 90 for a requester to submit a proposal. The user interface 90 can be displayed on an electronic display device of a computer for the requester to submit information. The user interface 90 includes a section 92 for identifying the requester, a section 94 for explaining the proposal or idea, a section 96 for identifying the amount of funds requested, and a section 98 for indicating a time frame for generating the requested funds. The proposal within the user interface 90 can be described in text, photo, video, or other multimedia content. The user interface 90 also includes a bank gauge 95, a funds gauge 97, and a time gauge 99 that can visually display the following: the amount of coins remaining in the bank and available for this proposal in gauge 95, the funds currently acquired or collected in gauge 97, and the time remaining to reach the funding goal in gauge 99. The gauges 95, 97, and 99 can be implemented using icons within the user interface 90. For example, the bank gauge 95 can include a bar whose length decreases as coins from the bank are used to fund this proposal, the funds gauge 97 can include a bar whose length increases as funds are collected, and the time gauge 99 can include a clock that performs a countdown indicating the amount of time remaining. The gauges 95, 97, and 99 can provide a way for both the requester and potential donors to view the status of the cloud funding for the proposal.

[0008] FIG. 8 is a diagram of another formatted user interface 130 for submitting a proposal and monitoring its status. The user interface 130 can be displayed on a computer electronic display device for a requester to submit a project proposal and monitor status information regarding the proposal. The user interface 130 can be implemented, for example, as a customizable template for various groups within an entity.

[0009] The user interface 130 includes a section 132 that indicates how many proposals this claimant has submitted. For example, different types of icons displayed in section 132 can indicate how many proposals this claimant has submitted. As another example, the light bulb icon shown in FIG. 8 can indicate that this proposal is the first idea submitted by this claimant. Instead of displaying different types of icons, the light bulb icon can optionally be shown in different colors to provide an indication of how many proposals this claimant has submitted, or can include a number displayed with the icon to indicate the number of proposals submitted. Section 132, or other parts of the user interface 130, can also include icons in addition to, or instead of, the light bulb icon to indicate other information about the claimant. For example, a specific type of badge icon can be displayed and used to indicate the number of proposals the claimant has contributed, how many of the proposals contributed by the claimant have been considered successful, or how many of the claimant's proposals have been considered successful. For example, a displayed gold circle badge icon can indicate that this claimant has contributed to at least 3 proposals resulting in the success of the project, and a displayed silver circle badge icon can indicate that this claimant has contributed to at least 1 proposal resulting in the success of the project. As another example, a displayed gold star badge icon can indicate that this claimant has submitted at least 3 proposals resulting in the success of the project, and a displayed silver star badge icon can indicate that this claimant has submitted at least 1 proposal resulting in the success of the project. Thus, displaying these badge icons can provide useful information to donors, for example, when determining whether to contribute to this particular proposal and, if so, how much to contribute. The term "badge" is used only as a label to identify the type of information conveyed by the corresponding icon. Section 134 can display information about the claimant, such as a photo of the claimant and the claimant's name, the assigned department within the entity, and the geographical location.

[0010] The section 136 corresponding to the funds gauge 97 can display an indication of the current funds supply obtained for the proposal and the total amount of funds requested. In this example, section 136 displays a bar whose length increases as funds are obtained, and the full length of the bar indicates the amount of funds requested. The amount of funds currently obtained and the amount requested can also be displayed in text adjacent to the bar. The section 138 corresponding to the time gauge 99 can display an indication of the time remaining to finance this proposal, in days in this example. Section 140 can display an indication of the status of the proposal, and in this example, the status of the proposal is that it is in the process of obtaining funds and has not yet been approved. Section 140 can be updated to display other status indications regarding the proposal, for example, that the proposal has been approved or completed. Section 142 can describe the project proposal or idea submitted by the requester, and the proposal within section 142 can be described in text, photos, videos, or other multimedia content. Section 142 can optionally include a link (electronic network address) to additional information about the proposal.

[0011] Section 144 can display an indication of the amount of coins available to the requester for use when contributing to a proposal. For example, each shaded icon within Section 144 can correspond to a specific amount of coins available to the requester for contributing to the proposal. For example, each shaded icon can represent 100 coins, and the value represented by each icon within Section 144 can also be displayed. The icons within Section 144 are shown as shaded circles and unshaded circles for illustrative purposes, and these icons can be stylized as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 as described below. Section 146 corresponding to bank gauge 95 can display an indication of the total amount of funds available at the bank. In this example, Section 146 displays a bar whose length decreases and a series of bars whose brightness decreases as funds from the bank are used to contribute to this proposal.

[0012] Accordingly, user interface 130 can display in section 138 a time gauge that visually indicates the amount of time remaining to obtain the amount of funds requested for the project, display in section 136 a funds gauge that visually indicates the amount of funds currently being obtained for the project, and display in section 146 a bank gauge that visually indicates the amount of funds available to the project by contributors eligible to use bank funds to make a contribution to the project. User interface 130 can also display changes in the funds gauge and the bank gauge between the amount of time remaining indicated by the time gauge when a contribution is received for the project, and the displayed changes in the funds gauge and the bank gauge correspond to the contribution received. The time gauge, the funds gauge, and the bank gauge can also be implemented in various colors to further visually indicate the status of the remaining time, the currently obtained funds, and the funds remaining at the bank, respectively. The contributor to the proposal identified in section 142 can, in some cases, access user interface 130 to monitor the status of the proposal and view the gauges of the proposal.

[0013] In method 30 of FIG. 2, the entity records the proposal via entity computer system 26 (step 34). The entity also determines whether to approve the proposal for cloud funding. Whether to approve the proposal can be determined, for example, by a committee having members with the right to vote to approve or reject the proposal. If the proposal is rejected, the entity can send a rejection message, such as by email, to the requester via network 24 from entity computer system 26 (step 36). For example, even if the idea itself is approved, the proposal can be rejected if all the syntax or information for the proposal is not complete. The review of the proposal to determine whether to approve or reject it is not to limit the idea, but to determine whether the proposal is complete. However, in some embodiments, the review can be done to approve or reject the actual idea proposed. If the proposal is approved, the entity broadcasts the proposal to potential donors (step 38). The proposal can be broadcast as an email to eligible donors of the project, or the proposal can be posted on the entity's internal website, and a message, such as an email or text message, can be sent to eligible donors to notify them of the proposal.

[0014] FIGS. 3A and 3B are flow diagrams of method 40 for incentivized cloud funding. Method 40 can be implemented in software for execution by donor computers 10, 20, and 22, and entity computer system 26. In method 40, a pool of potential donors 41, represented by donations 42, 44, and 46, can view the proposal and make donations to fund it. Only three donations are shown for illustrative purposes. Funding can be provided by a wide number of donors. The donor can be a person, such as an entity employee or consultant. The donor can also be a group of people, such as a team of entity employees.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a diagram of a user interface 100 for making a contribution to a proposal. The user interface 100 can be displayed on an electronic display device of a computer for a contributor to make a contribution. The user interface 100 includes a section 102 for identifying the contributor, a section 104 for identifying the proposal to which the contributor is contributing, and a section 106 for indicating the amount contributed to this proposal. The amount contributed can be, for example, billed to the contributor or assessed as a payroll deduction. If the contributor is providing coins for funding, the contribution amount can be deducted from the contributor's coin account. The user interface 100 can also include a section 107 for displaying an indication of the contributor's remaining coin balance and a section 109 for displaying an indication of the remaining time for the contributor to spend coins on the proposal. The virtual coins represented in section 107 are also available for funding this proposal and can include coins from a bank available to this contributor for funding.

[0016] Each of the donor donations 42, 44, and 46 can selectively follow the corresponding incentive multiplier (steps 48, 50, and 52 respectively). The incentive can be provided in part by a multiplier that increases the potential return based on specific criteria such as the country where the donor is based, the group or department to which the donor is assigned, the number of successful projects the donor has contributed to, or other criteria to encourage participation by a specific individual or group. As an example, the incentive multiplier can be 1.5 or 2.0 such that if the project is successful, the corresponding donor receives 1.5 times or 2 times the original donation respectively. Instead of making one large in-house grant using corporate or entity funds, the corporate funds can be used to encourage participation by offering a potential return based on the incentive multiplier. When the proposal is broadcast, the entity can optionally include the identification of the incentive multiplier for the project. For example, if the entity wants to encourage participation by employees of an entity based in Europe, the entity can indicate that any donor based in Europe will receive the incentive multiplier, along with an indication of such a multiplier. As another example, if the entity wants to encourage participation by employees working in the same group or department as the claimant, the entity can indicate that any of these employees as donors will receive the incentive multiplier.

[0017] Also, to raise many small amounts of money, the individual contributions represented by contributions 42, 44, and 46 can be limited to a certain percentage of the funding goal (the amount requested), for example 5% or 1%. For example, if the requested funding amount is $10,000, the entity can limit individual contributions to 5% of that amount or $500. As another example, the entity can set a monetary limit such as $100 for each contribution to a proposal. Other percentages or monetary limits are also possible if used. These limits can help promote participation by a large number of donors as is often desired for crowdfunding. If an individual contribution exceeds the limit when used, that contribution is not accepted and the corresponding donor may be notified that the attempted contribution exceeded the limit.

[0018] Contributions 42, 44, and 46 are selectively adjusted by an incentive multiplier and then converted into coins of the corresponding amount (steps 54, 56, and 58 respectively), and the resulting amount is added to the funds at step 60. Coins can be used as fiat currency or virtual currency. In particular, the coin is preferably a digital currency amount representing a non-convertible currency amount in a single currency. Tokens are also digital currency amounts representing non-convertible currency amounts. In the crowdfunding process, tokens can be used instead of or in addition to coins. Coins can also be branded to convey a specific corporate message or to link the history of an organization (entity) to important people or events during the organization's existence. Thus, coins provide a way to convert contributions in various currencies into a universal currency unit and to inform the requester and donors.

[0019] Using an existing exchange rate, the currency of the donor can be converted into coins, or an artificial exchange rate can be generated for conversion into coins. The exchange rate used for conversion into coins is later saved as a possibility to convert back into currency when payments are made from the funds for a successful project. The type of currency of the coins can be, for example, the currency of the claimant's country. For example, if the claimant is based in the United States of America, the coins can represent US dollars for this claimant's funds, and if the donor's contribution is not in US dollars, it is converted from the original currency into US dollars. For example, if the donor is based in Europe and the claimant is based in the United States of America, the donor's contribution can be converted from euros into US dollars using the current exchange rate (at the time of contribution). An artificial exchange rate, if used, can be another way to provide an incentive by establishing an exchange rate between specific currencies that is higher than the existing exchange rate.

[0020] Furthermore, instead of providing non-convertible currency, it is possible for the donor to acquire coins through specific activities such as presenting a technical paper, the number of patents granted to the donor, or the rating of the donor as determined by a performance review. The coins acquired can optionally have an expiration date, for example, at the end of the entity's current fiscal year.

[0021] Instead of, or in addition to, obtaining coins, the entity can distribute coins to the pool of potential donors 41 in step 51. In particular, the entity can replenish the pool of donors with coins. The entity can also replenish the bank with coins in step 53. The bank can represent the total amount of coins available for funding proposals and, in some cases, can use the coins within the bank, with restrictions regarding the donors who can use the coins within the bank, the proposals for which the donors can use the coins within the bank, and the amount of coins within the bank that each eligible donor can use to fund a project. For example, the total amount of coins within the bank can be reserved for use only by employees of a particular department of the company, and each of these eligible employees is allocated only a specific amount of the coins within the bank. As another example, the total amount of coins within the bank can be reserved for use only within a specific time frame. As other examples of such restrictions, the coins within the bank can be restricted to use only by employees within a specific geographic area or only by employees who have previously donated to a specific number of successful projects. Thus, the bank can include, for example, a bank of some coins based on these restrictions. The entity can periodically replenish the bank with coins for step 53, for example, the entity can replenish the bank quarterly for the entity's calendar year or quarterly for the entity's accounting period. The entity can also replenish the bank with coins at other times or according to other criteria.

[0022] The coins and banks in steps 51 and 53 are typically owned by an entity. In other embodiments, the coins and banks can be owned by different entities, and the entity's donors (e.g., employees and contractors) use the coins and banks to perform work for different entities. The coins and banks can optionally be branded or labeled by different entities. In this way, different entities essentially fund through the coins the work that the entity performs for different entities. For example, one company performs work for another company and is funded by the other company. This embodiment can also include an entity that performs work for many different entities, and each different entity has and owns its own coins and banks, which can be securely tracked through blockchain operations as described below. An entity can still own the idea and set the incentive multiplier for the process when it performs work for different entities through coins and banks owned by different entities and is funded by different entities.

[0023] This distributed coin, and optionally the coins obtained and within the banks, can be licensed to the donor with a license specifying how the coin can be used and its time limit. For example, the license can include the following conditions. That is, the coin can only be used to fund the proposal of an eligible claimant, the coin represents the value of non-fungible currency but has no monetary value itself, the coin must be used within the entity's current fiscal year, otherwise the coin will expire.

[0024] FIG. 6 is a diagram of a user interface 110 for distributing or sending coins to a pool of potential donors. The user interface 110 can be displayed on an electronic display device of a computer for potential donors to receive coins. The user interface 110 includes a section 112 that displays a coin icon representing a coin, a section 114 that displays the amount (unit number) of coins to be distributed or sent to potential donors, and a section 116 that displays a time limit for using the distributed coins. When a coin is licensed to a potential donor, the donor can select an acceptance button on the user interface 110 to accept the terms of the license and receive the coin into the donor coin account that is the subject of the license. The donor can view the license terms on the user interface 110 or another associated user interface. The value of the distributed coins can be based on, for example, a specific proposal. As an example, if the requester of the proposal is based in the United States of America, 1 coin (1 unit) can be equal to 1 US dollar. As another example, if the requester of the proposal is based in Europe, 1 coin (1 unit) can be equal to 1 European Union euro.

[0025] As described above, the coins can optionally be branded. FIG. 7 is a diagram of an exemplary icon 122 of a coin displayed on an electronic display device or screen represented by a dashed line 120, for example, as a coin icon 112 within the user interface 110 or a coin icon within section 144 of the user interface 130. This exemplary icon 122 resembles a currency coin and can include, along with a message as illustrated, a stylized entity name or brand in some cases.

[0026] In the entity computer system 26, in the method 40 of FIGS. 3A and 3B, it is determined whether the funding goal has been completed within the time frame specified for the donation and, optionally, within the total amount of the banks available for this proposal (step 62). If the funding goal has not been completed, the entity computer system 26 can add more time to raise funds (step 64), or delete funds (step 65), and any coins can be returned to the donor (step 66). Deleting funds in step 65 means that the donor is not billed for the amount of non - convertible currency proposed for the donation. If the donor originally used the acquired coins as the proposed donation, those coins are returned to the donor's coin account in step 66. If more time is added to raise funds, the requester can, optionally, refine the proposal and resubmit it.

[0027] Furthermore, in step 64, if more time is added, the entity can also change the value of the coins in the bank for this proposal (step 55), or add more coins to the bank for this proposal (step 57), or perform both steps 55 and 57. Changing the value of the coins in the bank for this proposal can effectively increase the amount of funds available for it. For example, the entity can first set the value of the coins in the bank so that one coin represents one US dollar, and then change the value of the coins in the bank so that one coin represents ten US dollars. In some cases, the entity can change the value of the coins in the bank for this proposal by decreasing the value, for example, if more coins are added to the bank to fund this project.

[0028] If the funding target is completed within the time frame (step 62), the entity computer system 26 converts the coins for the proposal into fiat currency, releases the money to the requester (step 68), and the project is in progress (step 70). If coins from the bank are used to fund this proposal, the entity computer system 26 removes the corresponding amount of coins from the bank (step 67). Also, the entity computer system 26 can provide the donor with a notice that the proposal donated by the donor has achieved its funding target and the corresponding project is in progress (step 69). This notice can include, for example, an email message, a post to an internal website, and a status change in section 140 of the user interface 130.

[0029] By using coins to represent the digital currency amount, the fiat currency for the funds can optionally be released locally to the requester in the country where the requester is based. For example, if the entity is based in the United States of America but the requester is based in Europe, the entity can instruct its European department to release fiat currency to the requester rather than remitting funds from the United States of America to a location or account in Europe. The fiat currency can be released, for example, by providing an electronic transfer of funds to the requester's bank account or by issuing a check to the requester. Further, by representing the digital currency amount in coins, for example, the fiat currency for the project is paid only if the project is approved.

[0030] When starting a project, the requester transfers ownership of the project data to the entity (steps 72 and 74). Transferring ownership of the data can include transferring intellectual property rights in the data such as any applicable patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secret rights. When the project is in progress, the status of the project can be provided to the donor, for example, by an email message or an electronic post, enabling the donor to track the progress of the project they donated to.

[0031] When the project time is completed, it is determined whether the project has been successful (step 76). If the project has not been successful, the project ends and, since the risk of funding the project has been taken, the funds are not returned to the contributor (step 78). If the project is successful, the project may enter commercial production by the entity (step 80). The project can be considered successful, for example, if the project can result in a product for the entity, if the project results in a working prototype, or according to other criteria. Also, the claimant transfers ownership of the project to the entity (steps 86 and 74). Transferring ownership of the project can include transferring ownership of any resulting prototype or other physical item, as well as any intellectual property rights in the project such as any applicable patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets.

[0032] The entity computer system 26 records the data of the project (step 84) and optionally pays the contributor the funds converted from the coins to the contributor's currency using the corresponding conversion rate and adjusted by the corresponding incentive multiplier (step 82). When step 82 is executed, the funds or bonus can be paid, for example, by an electronic transfer to the contributor's bank account or by issuing a check to the contributor. If the project is funded with coins distributed to a pool of potential contributors, the entity may not need to execute step 82. If the project is partially funded by the contributor's funds converted into coins, the entity can choose to execute step 82 for these types of contributions. Instead of step 82, the contributor, or a selected one of the contributors, can receive a type of bonus, such as a monetary bonus or an increase in virtual coins for reinvestment in other projects, and the coins are deposited into the contributor's coin account. Another type of bonus can include rewarding successful investors, where an investor means a contributor who has contributed to a project considered successful. The number of successful projects of a contributor can be tracked, and those contributors who have contributed to such successful projects can be rewarded with additional or increased virtual coins for reinvestment in other projects. This bonus for contributing to a successful project can be, for example, a set amount of coins per successful project or coins increased based on the number of successful projects. Thus, those contributors with a proven record of contributing to successful projects can be rewarded with more coins and be encouraged to invest in more proposals that they believe will result in successful projects.

[0033] Furthermore, if the project is successful, the entity computer system 26 can receive optional feedback from the donor regarding the proposal corresponding to this project (step 85). The feedback from the donor to the project can include the following information. A vote of approval indicating approval of the completed project, a vote of opposition indicating disapproval of the completed project, an indication that the project did not meet the donor's expectations, or an indication that the project exceeded the donor's expectations. The feedback can be provided, for example, in a user interface such as part of the user interface 100 or 130.

[0034] The security features can be incorporated into this cloud funding system based on various criteria such as groups or geographical regions. For example, if a proposal is only available for funding by donors within a particular group or department of an entity, only those donors can be granted access to information about the proposal. As another example, if a proposal is only available for funding by donors within a geographical region, only those donors within that geographical region can be granted access to information about the proposal.

[0035] Table 1 provides an example of a data structure for awarding coins to donors based on specific activities. Table 2 provides an example of a data structure for recording conversion rates for converting donations into equivalent amounts of coins. Table 3 provides an example of a data structure for recording data related to donations for a specific project. Table 4 provides an example of a data structure for recording coins distributed to potential donors. Table 5 provides an example of a data structure for recording project data. Table 6 provides an example of a data structure for data on banks of coins split among multiple banks, where each bank has a group of claimants eligible to have coins from the bank used for their proposals and a group of donors eligible to use coins from the bank to donate to their proposals. Tables 1 to 6 represent data structures stored in computer memory or an electronic database for access by an entity computer system or other computer.

[0036] [Table 1]

[0037] [Table 2]

[0038] [Table 3]

[0039] [Table 4]

[0040] [Table 5]

[0041] [Table 6]

[0042] The above cloud funding method can be implemented, for example, as a software application integrated with an existing entity computer system. The entity partially controls the process by owning the proposal, project, and coins therefor. The entity also owns intellectual property rights covering the proposal and project, providing an incentive for the entity to commercialize a successful project. Thus, this cloud funding method provides a specific type of cloud funding that can be useful to an organization as a way to fund innovation and develop ideas internally, separate from the more common ways an organization funds research and development.

[0043] FIG. 9 is a diagram of a blockchain structure for the above cloud funding system. Embodiments having a blockchain include a combination of a cloud-sourced idea generation electronic website and cloud-sourced funding for corporate innovation. The security and automation of such valuable datasets, including actual funds, are addressed by the addition of blockchain elements.

[0044] Hosting the cloud funding system on the blockchain enables the automation of important administrative tasks, such as the immediate generation of a project number for project expenditures when the project reaches its designated funding requirement level. This feature automates manual tasks, accelerates the project timeline, and, more importantly, gives project submitters and investors the confidence that their ideas will be funded by the entity if they are verified by their cloud funding investment peers. For example, the ability to guarantee immediate funding without weeks or months of project review may encourage participants or donors to advance their innovative ideas where they might otherwise hold back because they do not think they will receive approval to try their ideas.

[0045] Utilizing blockchain for a cloud funding system enables the creation and marketing of an entity's innovation coin, which can indicate that the entity is at the forefront of innovation digital transformation. Creating a coin of an entity brand that can be traded on the blockchain provides additional incentives to participants or donors who use the innovation site hosting the cloud funding system. Creating innovation coins such as the above-mentioned coin can further provide the entity with marketing opportunities, thereby monetizing the innovation platform and increasing the likelihood of licensing to external companies to obtain their own cloud funding initiatives.

[0046] Executing a cloud funding system and process on the blockchain provides security and traceability for project submission and the cloud funding process. Regarding the budget donated to the innovation platform, it is important to know how and where the money is being used. For investors, it is equally important to be sure that their voices are being heard through their coin donations. The automation, security, immutability, and transparency of the blockchain enable each of these purposes while also allowing the program to be easily scaled to multiple investment parties.

[0047] As shown in Figure 9, the platform can have five nodes with the following breakdown, namely, Node 152 which is a boot node and validator node, Node 160 which is an archival node, Node 154 which is a validator node, Node 156 which is a validator node, and Node 158 which is a validator node. These nodes can be implemented using, for example, known blockchain structures and operations.

[0048] Validator Nodes (154, 156, 158): Validator nodes are the nodes that participate in the consensus protocol. They are responsible for generating new blocks. Validator nodes are only connected to each other and to the boot node for security and efficiency purposes. Validator nodes apply the IBFT 2.0 consensus protocol to verify transactions and incorporate them into new blocks.

[0049] Boot Node (152): The boot node is responsible for setting up new nodes by providing a list of active nodes in the network and other relevant information such as white lists and black lists. The boot node is connected to all types of nodes in the network. In a simpler configuration, the boot node is used to discover peers initially. The boot node is the normal node that a node connects to at startup. The boot node includes the elements shown in Block 162 in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

[0050] Full Node: Since the full node has the current state of the blockchain, it cannot respond to all data requests in the network (e.g., the balance of an account in an old block).

[0051] Archive Node (160): The archive node has all the characteristics of a full node and also stores the intermediate states of all accounts and contracts for all blocks since the genesis block. The archive node has the functions of a full node and can access historical state data.

[0052] Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Networking. In the case of P2P networking, Besu implements the devp2p Ethereum network protocol. The protocol ensures communication between clients. This also functions as an additional IBFT2 sub-protocol. Discovery is performed using a UDP-based protocol. For communication, an RLPx - a TCP-based protocol is utilized. On the other hand, RLPx uses various sub-protocols including the ETH wire protocol (for transaction state synchronization) and the IBF sub-protocol (for consensus decision-making).

[0053] Badge / Coin / Token Creation / Development. In the blockchain platform of the cloud funding system, there can be two types of tokens, namely, coins which are fungible tokens and badges which are non-fungible tokens. Badges can be awarded to inventors who have been successful in the cloud funding system and can thus be used, for example, as an incentive multiplier to provide more coins to successful inventors.

[0054] Fungible Tokens: Coins or entity innovation coins are stable coin standard tokens associated with brand tokens, digital currencies, or actual currencies such as the US dollar whose value does not change significantly. Coins can be implemented as described above for the cloud funding system.

[0055] Table 7 includes examples of key elements of a smart contract for innovation token creation. In this example of the smart contract, the public price of the coin has a value of 1. Further, functions can be used during the life cycle of the fungible token.

[0056]

Table 7

[0057] Non-Fungible Token (NFT): The badge is an NFT that features unique characteristics and cannot be exchanged or replaced with the same token. The smart contract within the NFT helps store unique and exclusive data that differentiates the NFT from other tokens (which are also known to be indivisible). The badge is an individual token with additional information stored. Each badge contains an owner identification (ID), rich metadata, a secure file link, and other identification information recorded in its smart contract. The badge can be drafted or generated, for example, via the ERC721 standard to facilitate NFT requirements.

[0058] The blockchain structure of FIG. 9 can be implemented within the cloud funding system of FIG. 1 (e.g., donors and entity computers) and the processes of FIGS. 2 and 3A - 3B to provide secure and trackable transactions throughout the process. The blockchain structure and the cloud funding system may be applied within a single entity or company to facilitate idea development, or may be applied among multiple entities or companies to incentivize and execute cloud - source innovation. In each of these cases, the blockchain structure and the cloud funding system provide a trackable and immutable record of the investments required to enable multi - entity collaboration. The blockchain structure and the cloud funding system also provide management automation that enables cloud - source innovation across one or more entities at an enterprise scale. The blockchain structure can also generate coins such that each coin is unique and trackable throughout the process. When an entity replenishes coins at step 51, the bank adds coins at step 53, additional coins are added at step 57, and the value of the coins is changed at step 55, each new coin becomes the subject of blockchain operations to uniquely identify it and then track it via its unique identifier. The incentive multipliers in steps 48, 50, and 52 can also be made the subject of blockchain operations to uniquely identify and track the multiplier for the corresponding donor.

[0059] Transactions in the processes of FIGS. 3A and 3B can also be made the subject of blockchain operations to uniquely identify them. For example, the transactions in steps 54, 56, and 58 convert coins, steps 65 and 66 delete funds and return coins, step 60 adds the converted donation to the funds, step 67 removes coins from the bank, steps 68 and 69 release non-convertible currency and notify the donor, step 82 pays the funds, and step 86 transfers ownership. Other steps or transactions in the cloud funding process can also be made the subject of blockchain operations to uniquely identify them and track them through the process.

[0060] Table 8 is an example of a blockchain immutable record for applying unique identifiers in a cloud funding system. The immutable record can be distributed and tagged between the entity computer and the donor computer, for example, to provide security by using unique identifiers for coins, incentive multipliers, badges, and to verify transactions. Table 9 is an example of the blockchain operations of a cloud funding system. The immutable record and the blockchain operations can be implemented using, for example, known blockchain records and operations.

[0061]

Table 8

[0062]

Table 9

Claims

1. A computerized implementation method for cloud funding for innovation involving one or more entities, The steps include distributing a proposal via a computer system, which includes a description of the project, the amount of funding requested, and a timeframe for raising the said funding, The steps include transferring ownership of the aforementioned project to or between entities, The entity takes the step of receiving a donation from a donor via the computer system, and for each of the received donations, The steps include: converting the donation into a corresponding amount of coins, which are digital currency amounts representing fiat currency amounts, according to the exchange rate; The steps include: performing blockchain operations on the aforementioned coin, The steps include adding the adjusted donation to the aforementioned funds, If the said funds meet the amount of the requested funds within the said timeframe and within the amount of bank funds available for the project, the computer system releases the amount of money corresponding to the amount of coins in the said funds from the entity to the requester. A method comprising the step of determining whether the project was successful after the aforementioned funds have been released.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving step further includes the step of selectively adjusting the donation by an incentive multiplier, and the step of performing a blockchain operation on the incentive multiplier.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of distributing the funds, which have been adjusted by a corresponding incentive multiplier and converted from the coins at a corresponding conversion rate, to the donors by the entity if the project is successful.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the step of distributing the funds includes the step of distributing the funds converted from coins using the same exchange rate used to convert the donations into coins.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conversion step uses the current exchange rate at the time of the donation as the conversion rate from the donor's country currency to the requester's country currency.

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