Swisscom is launching a new app for Swisscom TV delivered via its UHD-ready TV-Box. NOOW app uses blockchain to protect and manage copyright of digital artworks.
Screens are increasingly used for digital art in hotels, restaurants, offices and private spaces. However, a lack of copy protection systems and distribution platforms means that these works are often used illegally.
Swiss startup dloop has launched a platform that allows art to be distributed and financed simultaneously. dloop was created as a spin-off from Swisscom’s internal innovation programme, ‘Kickbox’, which encourages employees to contribute their own business ideas.
Smart contracts
The NOOW app will include 100 works by 30 international artists – selected by curator Stefanie Marlene Wenger. Viewers will be able to select the pieces and purchase a certified copy.
NOOW uses ECR721 smart contracts, which are based on the Ethereum blockchain technology, to certify its works of art. The digital certificates of authenticity can be transferred easily by buyers and artists to new users.
dloop’s CEO, Tom Rieder, said, “NOOW is making digital art into a collector’s object and creating a value for it. Digitisation has enabled digital art to be copied without any reduction in quality, essentially eroding the value of an original. With NOOW, however, the owner receives a certificate of authenticity and knows how many copies of a work exist.”
Blockchain in telecoms
As in other industries, the use of blockchain is growing in telecoms — as the latest example from, Swisscom shows. According to Research and Markets, the market for the distributed ledger technology in telecoms will rocket from a $46.6 million (€41.5 million) industry in 2018 to one that is worth $993.8 million (€885.2 million) in 2023.
Telecoms use cases are expected to be around support for OSS/BSS processes and security, among others. Earlier this month, Turkcell launched a blockchain-based ID management tool and Telefónica is working with Microsoft to explore AI and technologies like blockchain, 5G and edge computing to transform its network.