The Importance of Trust
Trust. It’s funny to think that without trust, the marvels of today’s civilization could never have come to fruition. Everyday we trust others; capitalism depends on the exchanges of goods and services and if we lacked faith in other’s products then we could never truly move forward. However today there is growing sense of distrust towards authority. More and more people distrust governments and corporations. Many believe that it is not possible to be innocent anymore between governments allegedly spying on them and corporations selling their data. However ever since the first block chain was conceptualized in 2008 by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, an alternative to trusting current centralized repositories developed.
Nowadays many businessmen and engineers have a less than stellar view of the patent office. Due to the ridiculously long wait and the astronomically high prices(roughly $20,000 including lawyer fees), many believe that the patent system needs a revamp. That is why the Acumen Network aims to combine the democratic nature of the blockchain with the ability to protect intellectual property. Many historians agree that the affordable patent system in the US catalyzed America’s transition to a world power. With all the professionals looking for freelance work, the price for applying for patents will decrease dramatically due to the efficiency of the free market.
However many would argue that the free market has no place in something that requires so much responsibility. Any Tom, Dick, and Harry can come in and tamper with applications destroying the integrity of the network. In order to allow only allow people who have the necessary experience and reputation to handle a task as delicate as patents, examiners must go through a rigorous verification process that includes verifying their name, education, and work experience. The lovely thing about the blockchain is that since all information is stored on the blockchain, if someone were to con their way in to the Acumen Network, the community can still catch them.
The profile section allows examiners to add areas of expertise or interests based off previous projects. This allows for the Acumen algorithm to match applications to examiners much more efficiently such as matching an expert in chip design with examining a patent application for a new FPGA. The Acumen Network is built off trust and will only be enforced by courts if the people can trust that community members are acting fairly. Examiners are the keystone that holds the bridge of trust in the Acumen Network and if the people don’t trust the examiners then the whole network crumbles.
In an ideal world everyone would act with integrity however sadly this can not be said of the real world. Luckily instead of placing our trust in individuals, who may have malicious interests, we can instead place our trust in the Acumen community through the power of the blockchain.
