Details
- Publication date
- 1 July 2022 (Last updated on: 1 July 2022)
- Author
- European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency
- Country
- Peru
- Publication type
- Case study
Description
CHAIN O’BLOCK is a Belgian start-up that had a patent pending in Belgium for a device that used blockchain and artificial intelligence as well as IoT technology, with use in the automotive industry.
On the advice of a lawyer (other than the one carrying the patent application) the CEO wanted to set up a franchise as a business model, as the EU entrepreneur aimed to have full control of the whole commercialisation process, particularly of the user’s experience.
However, CHAIN O’BLOCK’s owner had not registered (nor was he in the process of registering) anything else by a professional. In fact, he applied for the trade mark on his own before the EUIPO and it was granted.
Spontaneously, he was contacted by a possible partner from Peru, who wanted to be his distributor in the Andean country. Given that the patent application had not yet been filed in Belgium, and there were still pending development issues, the conversation was limited to exploring whether there would be interest on the part of the Latin American businessman through a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
After giving access to the source code, the Peruvian disappeared and there were no news about him 6 months later.
