iTnews

Microsoft turns to blockchain to track royalty payments

By Staff Writers on Jun 25, 2018 6:55AM
Microsoft turns to blockchain to track royalty payments

Rolling out to games publishers.

Microsoft is hoping blockchain will make it easier to keep track of who is owed royalties for their contribution to games.

The software vendor teamed up with EY to create the solution, which is built on the Quorum blockchain protocol and “Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure and blockchain technologies”.

Quorum itself is an enterprise-focused modification of the core software behind Ethereum. It is being led by JP Morgan.

Microsoft said in a statement that a large number of creatives contributed to the development of a new game, and were typically then owed royalties for their work.

These could “include authors, songwriters, production houses, developers and more – the intellectual property generates millions of transactions aggregating to billions of dollars per month in royalties to be paid.”

However, the company said that currently these royalty calculations are “mostly manual and generally managed via offline data sources.”

It hopes that using blockchain with its games publishers will “significantly reduce operational inefficiencies in the rights and royalties management process, and eliminate the need for costly manual reconciliation and partner reviews.”

“The embedded smart contract architecture is designed to enable accurate and real-time calculation of each participant's royalty position, providing enhanced visibility for recording and reconciling of royalty transactions,” Microsoft and EY said.

Games publishers would also benefit by being able to more accurately forecast how much they would have to pay out in royalties in the future.

Microsoft said it intends to deploy the “rights and royalties blockchain network with interested gaming partners in a phased manner.”

“When fully operational, this blockchain network is expected to encompass thousands of Microsoft royalty partners and process millions of transactions per day, making it one of the world's largest enterprise blockchain ecosystems,” the company said.

Both EY and Microsoft said they will explore other uses for the technology outside of Microsoft’s game publisher partners.

Got a news tip for our journalists? Share it with us anonymously here.
Copyright © iTnews.com.au . All rights reserved.
Tags:
blockchain ethereum games microsoft software

Partner Content

Improving returns from SD-WAN spending
Partner Content Improving returns from SD-WAN spending
Setting a path to self-funded mainframe-to-cloud modernisation with Micro Focus
Promoted Content Setting a path to self-funded mainframe-to-cloud modernisation with Micro Focus
Putting cyber security basics in place
Partner Content Putting cyber security basics in place
Why companies fail at picking cloud modernisation partners
Promoted Content Why companies fail at picking cloud modernisation partners

Sponsored Whitepapers

The top 5 tech trends to deliver business outcomes
The top 5 tech trends to deliver business outcomes
10 reasons why businesses need to invest in cloud security training
10 reasons why businesses need to invest in cloud security training
Your guide to application security solutions
Your guide to application security solutions
State of Software Security: Open Source Edition
State of Software Security: Open Source Edition
Five questions to ask before you upgrade to a SIEM solution
Five questions to ask before you upgrade to a SIEM solution

Events

  • On-Demand Webinar: How Poly and Microsoft are Embracing Future Work Environments
  • [iTnews and Micro Focus] Navigating the cloud modernisation minefield
By Staff Writers
Jun 25 2018
6:55AM
0 Comments

Related Articles

  • RBA partners with CBA, NAB on digital wholesale currency
  • Microsoft says Apple's move against 'Fortnite' creator would hurt its games
  • Microsoft teams up with EU publishers amid Facebook's Australian spat
  • Microsoft readies new standalone licence Office versions
Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Whatsapp Email A Friend

Most Read Articles

TPG Telecom to start enticing NBN customers to move

TPG Telecom to start enticing NBN customers to move

Infosys scores another $40m for Centrelink payments engine build

Infosys scores another $40m for Centrelink payments engine build

Telstra InfraCo opens up telco's own fibre network

Telstra InfraCo opens up telco's own fibre network

Transport for NSW data stolen in Accellion breach

Transport for NSW data stolen in Accellion breach

You must be a registered member of iTnews to post a comment.
Log In | Register
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorisation.
Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of nextmedia's Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.