Artwork Scan Authentication Using Blockchain Ownership Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of authenticating physical artwork to ensure that the purchased item is the same as the one viewed and agreed upon, particularly in online transactions, is not adequately addressed by existing technologies.
Innovation Solution
A system using blockchain security to authenticate physical artwork through digital scans, where a trusted scan of the artwork is secured on a blockchain, and subsequent scans are compared against the trusted scan, with smart contracts facilitating the authentication process and transfer of ownership.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional authentication methods are used for artwork verification, then the process can be simple, but the reliability and security of authentication is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a blockchain system as an intermediary between the artwork and the authentication process. The blockchain stores cryptographic hashes of artwork images and maintains a decentralized ledger of ownership transactions, serving as a trusted mediator that eliminates the need for centralized authentication authorities while significantly improving authentication reliability and security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical authentication methods (physical inspection, expert verification) with cryptographic mechanisms. Digital scans of artwork are converted into cryptographic hashes stored on the blockchain, and authentication is performed through cryptographic verification of these hashes, substituting physical/mechanical processes with digital/cryptographic ones.
2Reliability
If digital scans are stored locally for authentication, then access is fast, but security and trustworthiness are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates cryptographic copies (hashes) of the original artwork scans and stores them on the blockchain. These cryptographic copies serve as immutable verification tokens that can be quickly generated and compared without requiring access to the original large scan files, thus maintaining security while reducing authentication time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-generating and storing cryptographic hashes of artwork scans on the blockchain before authentication is needed. When authentication is required, the system only needs to compare incoming scan hashes against the pre-stored blockchain hashes, eliminating the need for time-consuming re-scanning or re-verification processes.
3Reliability
If artwork scans are encrypted for security, then security is improved, but accessibility and ease of verification deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential cryptographic hash from the encrypted artwork scan and stores it on the blockchain. The full encrypted scan remains secure and inaccessible, while the extracted hash serves as a public verification token that can be easily compared without requiring decryption keys or complex cryptographic operations, thus maintaining security while improving verification ease.
Data Source
AI summary
Scan matching can be used for art authentication. A digital scan of at least a portion of the authentic painting (or other type of artwork) is created. If a scan exists that is trusted to be a digital image identifying the authentic artwork, a subsequent scan can be created of the work a buyer intends to purchase. If the subsequently created scan matches the trusted scan of the artwork, the buyer can conclude that the artwork to be purchased is the authentic one. The trusted scan passes to the buyer as a blockchain transaction.