Blockchain and Intellectual Property Governance in the Digital Economy: Innovation, Smart Licensing, and Structural Challenges

Abstract

The notion of intellectual property (IP) in the digital era has transformed significantly due to advancements in blockchain technology. It has changed how rights can be asserted, verified and enforced in the digital assets and how IP is recorded, transferred, and monetized in the digital economy. While the advent of decentralized technologies like Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), smart contracts and the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) offer exciting possibilities, their usage is limited due to their non-recognition in most of the statutory regimes. In the light of these advancements, the basic IP concepts of authorship, ownership, and licensing need reformulation.  This paper explores how blockchain-based IP licensing systems can support smarter, more transparent licensing of IP rights and contribute to digital economy. It critically examines the key doctrinal misalignments and regulatory ambiguities, prevailing in India, the EU, and the US, that need to be plugged-in for efficient blockchain-IP integration.. Further, a normative framework based on statutory modernization and procedural enablement led by institutions like WIPO and coordinated with regulatory bodies has been proposed. The findings are relevant for legal reformers, IP policymakers, digital market economists, and platform designers seeking a more coherent system of innovation governance in the age of decentralization.