Topic: [ANN] InvArch (invarch.io): A Bridge Between Ideas And Creation. (Read 128 times)

To clarify and summarize, the service you offered is like... data recording an NFT that enables community to share an ownership of certain IP by NFTing them? And this is exactly what you mean by fractionalizing ownership, i.e. sharing the burden of the cost of one IP to a group of owners?

I appreciate the questions, thank you.

Regarding point number 1, so far the current models (except for 1, which I'll get to) all focus on either minting NFTs to represent real-world (tangible) assets or most notably as a means to record and verify ownership/the author and authenticity of digital art. There is one project, called IPwe, that is working with IBM to store patents as NFTs (https://newsroom.ibm.com/2021-04-20-IPwe-and-IBM-Seek-to-Transform-Corporate-Patents-With-Next-Generation-NFTs-Using-IBM-Blockchain); which is very similar to what I am doing.

There are two distinct differences:
1. InvArch seeks to store intellectual property/patents as NFTs, but with a more public and decentralized use-case (eventually, 100% token supply/voting weight will be held by the public), compared to IPwe which is pursuing a corporate and centralized use-case.

2. InvArch's flagship dApp will focus on empowering and connecting regular individuals with one another in order to form partnerships and help spur innovation, vs. focusing on commercializing IP as NFTs within the corporate world.

I'd like to note that I obviously love what IPwe is doing, and was encouraged when I found another project thinking similarly to mine; but at my core, my interest is in deploying a platform for the global community, one where the greater public can work and build a better future - a platform made for the public and eventually completely decentralized and governed/owned by the public.

Regarding point number 2, I completely agree with you; however, I'm not talking about fractionalizing the IPT itself. Just like an NFT, an IPT is non-fungible (of course); however, a slight difference is that you can't mint different editions like many people can/do with NFTs (notably because the technology is so far been used for digital art). There is one IPT, and no linked editions/variations of it. Instead, fungible IPT ownership tokens [IPTO] can be minted. One distinct feature is IPTO is minted with a preset supply cap of 10,000, with each IPTO representing a hundredth of a percent of ownership. In tandem, IPTO is directly pegged to its respective IPT.


Currently, there has just been me on the development side. I'm currently in talks with a few individuals, 2 of which will be joining the project. Also, I've secured the project's first *seasoned* advisor (the site will be updated by the end of next week). For the most part, this was a project that I had been working on for several years by myself. A year ago, I had the eureka moment to utilize blockchain technology as the foundation to make everything work and have been incubating and working on the project more heavily since then.

I've been focusing on developing a clearly thought-out and well-developed project before marketing too much. Regardless, I'll be focusing more resources to grow our community presence and bringing someone on to help manage and market things better. I've just been focused on the product itself.


ICO details are still being finalized (but should be released by August 18th), although we will be requiring identity verification in order to comply with KYC requirements.

How many members of the project team? are you alone? the project started a few months ago, but your twitter account was just created this month and doesn't have any tweets yet.

Point number 1 and 2 raises my interest and I'd like to know more if you don't mind me probing. For point number 1, wasn't this model already available and offered by a lot of defi/nft projects? Or is there something else that you offered that makes you different?

And for number 2, isn't it quite contradictive? The point of NFT and what's so special about it to set it aside from the previous crypto model (where everything can be sold in smallest fractions someone wanted to buy) was that it's indivisible. An nft should be sold as a whole and each token is unique and different from others. You propose to convert IP into an NFT, which then can be sold in fractions?

On which platform will ico be released? Do you need a whitelist or kyc？

If it helps, I've released a few articles across Medium and Publish0x that review everything a bit more & with graphics.

The InvArch Whitepaper: https://invarch.medium.com/the-invarch-whitepaper-252279a1105a
Litepaper: https://invarch.medium.com/invarch-a-bridge-between-ideas-creation-c53f2ef6a7bf
Feature & Use Cases: https://invarch.medium.com/invarch-blockchain-features-use-cases-5cfbdbeb36a1

InvArch: Blockchain Beyond DeFi: https://www.publish0x.com/blockchain-economy

Absolutely. I apologize, a more concise summary of the project is this:

1. Allowing users to tokenized their intellectual property as NFTs.
2. These intellectual property tokens (IPTs) can have the ownership fractionalized.
3. IPT Ownership (IPTO) can be leveraged in order to form business partnerships with users who have the hard/technical skills to actualize the project.
4. These decentralized entrepreneurial ventures (DEVs) are partnerships governed by DAOs.
5. DEVs can also leverage IPTO in order to raise funding for their project.

What problem am I addressing?

It may seem simple, but if you go around asking people if they've ever had a great idea for something (anything) that they never did anything with because they didn't have the skills and/or resources to make it real, an overwhelming majority will reply in the affirmative. InvArch aims to bridge the gap between great ideas and those who have the abilities to make them real, by forming business partnerships between the actors of the process.

Can you perhaps present something simpler and summarized (yet not as vague as the summary on your second post) to help us decide if we're interested on throwing ourselves into reading that whole whitepaper you put as your introduction post?

We can probably start with what's the app about.

This project hopes to provide a killer app for blockchain, in the same sense that email did for the internet.
To provide a service that has broad appeal and uses, regardless of one's technical expertise.

Please visit: https://www.publish0x.com/blockchain-economy/invarch-an-intellectual-property-development-and-decentraliz-xyyyqpk for the original post.

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InvArch: An Intellectual Property Development And Decentralized Venture Networking Platform

ABSTRACT: Innovation in today’s world suffers from a society that lacks trust and decentralized communications. As a result, many actors refrain from sharing their ideas even though they lack the means to actualize them. In tandem, skilled actors lack access to a channel where they can leverage those skills in business partnerships in the same sense that a financial actor can leverage capital for equity.

This paper introduces the conception for a network that utilizes intellectual property tokens as a means for individuals to tokenize and protect their intellectual property with the same functionality as non-fungible tokens. This allows these new tokens to be leveraged in business and financial transactions, similar to their underlying parent.

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations allow for smart contracts to regulate the operations and governance of partnerships on the blockchain. Skills are leveraged, just as they are on employment boards. However, the difference is that the opportunity in exchange for them is a Decentralized Entrepreneurial Venture. This gives access to equity and entrepreneurship rather than a typical job opportunity.

We believe that by eliminating the barriers of trust through blockchain technology and providing a network to serve as a gateway to better utilize this new technology, innovation will be able to scale and occur at practical yet impressive rates.

1. Preface

The nature of this document is to provide an overview of the technical “vision” and intentions for development that may be taken, with an elaboration as to why these intentions are practical and significant.

This document includes the underlying architecture of the protocol together with ideas and arguments that may be taken to improve the network. Assumably, this structure will be used as the starting point for an initial proof-of-concept. A final “version 1.0” would be dependent on this beta protocol together with any unforeseen concepts proven that are determined to be required for the project to reach its goals.

1.1. History.

07/01/2021: 0.1.0-proof1

07/24/2021: 0.1.0-proof2

07/26/2021: 0.1.0

1.2. Ethereum as a Smart Contract and Decentralized Application Platform. Ethereum was proposed in 2013 by programmer Vitalik Buterin. [2] In 2014, development was crowdfunded, and the network went live on 30 July 2015. The platform allows developers to deploy permanent and immutable decentralized applications onto it, with which users can interact. The problem, however, has been scalability due to proof of work consensus and interoperability between blockchains.

1.3. Polkadot as a Heterogeneous Multi-Chain Framework. Polkadot is the brainchild of Dr. Gavin Wood, who is one of the co-founders of Ethereum and the inventor of the Solidity smart contract language. Dr. Wood started working on his idea to “design a sharded version of Ethereum '' in mid-2016 and released the first draft of the Polkadot white paper in October. This introduced an ecosystem of interoperable and scalable blockchains known as “parachains.” [1]

1.4. Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS). Delegated Proof-of-Stake is the process of selecting validators to be allowed to participate in the consensus protocol. [4] DPoS is a variation of Proof-of-Stake and used in Substrate-based Blockchains such as Kusama, Polkadot, or inevitably, InvArch.

1.5. Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs). A non-fungible token is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files. [3]

1.6. Decentralized Finance (DeFi). Decentralized finance is a blockchain-based form of finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks to offer traditional financial instruments, and instead utilizes smart contracts on blockchains.

2. Introduction

Unfortunately, the reality is that there currently isn’t a platform where intellectual property and individual skills can securely connect. Without this medium, ideas have no protection while being shared, work provides no guarantee after being contributed, and ventures have limited exposure.

As a result of these advancements, the world has determined ways to secure currencies, data, creative art, and real-world assets as digital tokens. Still, the problem is that this new form of tokenized security is only available towards assets that already exist in either a physical or digital state. Currently, blockchain technology only provides security for tangible assets.

InvArch is an intuitive and cutting-edge blockchain protocol that bridges the gap between ideas and creation; connecting a world of thinkers, creators, and finance under one ecosystem, allowing innovation to flourish.

2.1. Protocol, Implementation, and Network. The network is constructed using the Substrate framework. The node is made of FRAME Pallets that serve as building blocks for the protocol’s runtime, implementation, and networking structure. [8]

3. Summary

InvArch is a decentralized network for intellectual property tokenization and professional ventures. Unlike past blockchains that have focused primarily on investment finance services and the tokenization of physical asset classes, InvArch provides security and utility for abstract datasets.

Briefly stated, InvArch may be compared to a hybrid between a professional networking platform and a variation of a patent authenticator - rather than individuals leveraging skills and employers offering a salary in a job application, users can leverage skills and offer equity in a venture opportunity.

3.1. Philosophy. By connecting great ideas with skills and resources from around the globe, InvArch provides the foundation for new decentralized marketplaces and businesses to emerge, extending access and opportunity through a variety of startups, apps, and services. InvArch allows all actors and resources of the product/business development process to connect, grow, and operate on one blockchain.

Innovation shouldn’t be limited to instances where skills, ingenuity, and capital are all present. Access shouldn’t be discriminatory, great ideas don’t originate based on prejudice.

3.2. Vision. While it is broadly anticipated that the blockchain will evolve far beyond its initial inception, it is expected to transform the landscape of the startup ecosystem. Great ideas will arise in abundance, and new opportunities will emerge in tandem. Revolutionary innovations will not be able to be shut out or censored, and the world will have a foundation for combating its problems.

4. Network Participation

In this implementation of InvArch, it utilizes delegated proof of stake to achieve consensus.

4.1. InvArch Accounts. There are three key roles designated to maintain the integrity of the InvArch network; validators, nominators, and guardians.

4.1.1. Electors. An elector is a stake-holding party who contributes to the security bond of a representative. They have no additional role except to place risk capital and as such to signal that they trust a particular representative (or set thereof) to act responsibly in their maintenance of the network. They receive a pro-rated increase or reduction in their deposit according to the bond’s growth to which they contribute. [4]

Electors in the network will allocate their tokens as votes towards representatives. The larger the number of tokens the elector has, the higher their voting weight - hence proof of stake.

4.1.2. Representatives. A representative is the highest charge and helps seal new blocks on the Polkadot network. The representative’s role is contingent upon a sufficiently high bond being deposited, though we allow other bonded parties to elect one or more representatives to act for them and as such, some portion of the representative’s bond may not necessarily be owned by the representative itself but rather by these electors. [4]

We end up with a ranking of nodes with the most votes (number of tokens allocated to them). The top N of these will become representatives of the network council. N depends on the scale and changes of the network.

5. Architecture Overview

This section is designed to give a brief overview of the platform as a whole. A more thorough exploration of the system is given in the following section afterward.

5.1. InvArch and Polkadot. The InvArch blockchain and platform will be built utilizing the Substrate development framework, and the underlying Rust programming language. [5] The intention behind these decisions is to have the InvArch blockchain be deployed to the Polkadot network’s multi-chain ecosystem and parachain relay.

5.1.1. Parachains. A parachain is an application-specific data structure that is globally coherent and validatable by the validators of the Relay Chain. Most commonly a parachain will take the form of a blockchain, but there is no specific need for them to be actual blockchains.

The InvArch blockchain will be seeking this development path to utilize the benefits of shared security, fast transaction speeds, and interoperability. [1]

5.2. Intellectual Property Tokens. Utilizing the InvArch Blockchain, users will be able to tokenize their ideas. By combining patent smart contracts and NFT technology, users will be able to securely store their intellectual property (IP) in the form of a non-fungible token called an IPT. By accessing the blockchain’s Invention Arch, providing some information about their intellectual property token [6], and paying a small fee to help power the network, users will be able to securely store their IPT on the InvArch blockchain ledger.

5.3. Intellectual Property Ownership Ownership. Intellectual property tokens will be able to have their ownership divided among multiple addresses or owners. IPT Ownership (IPTO) is a form of fractional ownership over an IPT. A finite and preset number of fungible IPTOs may be assigned to a single intellectual property token. The value of a single IPTO will be determined by the total amount of the network’s native currency bonded to the IPT, divided by the total number of IPTO.

Leveraging these new forms of tokenized assets, users will be able to establish partnerships with other individuals and users who provide hard skills and/or resources that their intellectual property token (IPT) is missing to come to fruition.

5.4. Decentralized Entrepreneurial Ventures. Creators of intellectual property tokens will be able to bond them to a series of smart contracts that automate the development process in a decentralized entrepreneurial venture (DEV).

Users will be able to leverage ownership over their IPT, and therefore parallel value, in the venture.

Governance rules, general development timelines, and partnership terms are defined at this time. As an alternative to offering skills in return for employment on a job board, users can provide their skills in return for equity and entrepreneurship through the InvArch blockchain.

6. Protocol Analysis

The protocol can be roughly broken down into three parts: the main relay chain, 2nd order parachains, and the DEV parachain. The combination of the relay chain with the subsequent parachains is what gives the InvArch blockchain utility.

6.1. Parachain Design. The main relay chain, which will be identified as the core InvArch parachain joining the Polkadot ecosystem, shall consist of several interoperable runtimes. The IDS-11 protocol, which will control the runtime logic for intellectual property tokenization and ownership fractioning. The Networking runtime, which will handle relevant algorithms. The Finance runtime for on-chain transactions and logic.

The integrity of the parachain is maintained by electors and representatives on the network.

6.2. Intellectual Property Contracts. Smart contracts are instructions of code that enforce a contract of operations and proceedings between parties. This has been implemented in blockchain technology in instances such as land-asset management and payment transactions, to name a few. Just as these actions are controlled by a smart contract, intellectual property will be tokenized in the same sense as patents are enforced by a series of contracts.

6.2.1 Tokenization. To mint an intellectual property token, a user will provide various predetermined data fields. When you upload an idea or patent, a canonical version is mapped to the token that lives on the blockchain and it can’t be touched or altered.

6.2.2. Validation. Each token minted has a unique identifier. They're not directly interchangeable with other tokens 1:1. For example, 1 VARCH is the same as another VARCH. This isn't the case with IPTs. Each token has an owner and this information is easily verifiable.

They live on InvArch and can be leveraged on any InvArch-based IPT market. In other words, if you own an IPT:

You can easily prove you own it.

No one can manipulate it in any way.

You can sell it, and in some cases, this will earn the original creator resale royalties.

You can hold it forever, resting comfortably knowing your asset is secured by your wallet on InvArch.

Unlike many NFTs, intellectual property tokens have a set scarcity limit of 1. This is to ensure the proprietary ownership of the intellectual property. Fractional ownership will be possible through bonded tokens that are pegged to the unique IPT. [3]

6.2.3. Transaction Routing. There are DeFi applications that let you borrow money by using collateral. For example, you collateralize 1000 VARCH so you can borrow 150 USDC (a stable coin). This guarantees that the lender gets paid back – if the borrower doesn't pay back the USDC, the collateral is sent to the lender. However, not everyone has enough crypto to use as collateral.

Projects can explore using IPT Ownership (IPTO) as collateral instead. By putting this up as collateral, you can access a loan with the same ruleset. If you don't pay back the USDC, your IPTO will be sent to the lender as collateral. This could eventually work with anything you tokenize as an IPT and fractionalized IPTO ownership with.

This isn't hard on InvArch, because both worlds (IPT and DeFi) share the same infrastructure.

6.3. Entrepreneurial Venture Contract. A DEV is an internet-native business that's collectively owned and managed by its members. They have built-in treasuries that no one has the authority to access without the approval of the group. Decisions are governed by proposals and voting to ensure everyone in the organization has a voice.

No CEO can authorize spending based on their whims and no chance of a CFO manipulating the books. Everything is out in the open and the rules around spending are baked into the DEV via its code.

Starting an organization with someone that involves funding and money requires a lot of trust in the people you're working with. But it’s hard to trust someone you’ve only ever interacted with on the internet. With DEVs you don’t need to trust anyone else in the group, just the DEV’s code and terms, which are 100% transparent and verifiable by anyone.

6.3.1. Venture Consensus. DEVs are more permissionless than regular DAOs, but still quite open. Any prospective member can submit a proposal to join the DEV, usually offering a tribute of some value in the form of tokens or work. Shares represent direct voting power and ownership of an IPT. Members can exit at any time with their proportionate share of the treasury.

The backbone of a DEV is its smart contract. The contract defines the rules of the organization and holds the group's treasury. Once the contract is live on InvArch, no one can change the rules except by a vote. If anyone tries to do something that's not covered by the rules and logic in the code, it will fail. And because the treasury is defined by the smart contract too that means no one can spend the money without the group's approval either.

This means that DEVs don't need a central authority. Instead, the group makes decisions collectively and payments are authorized automatically when votes pass.

This is possible because smart contracts are tamper-proof once they go live on InvArch. You can't just edit the code (the DEV terms) without people noticing because everything is public.

6.3.2. Venture Bonding. At inception, a DEV will require two things; An IPT and VARCH tokens to bond to the ownership of the IPT. The value per share of ownership is determined by the bonding process:

V = Tn / F

The value of a single IPTO is equal to the total number of tokens (Tn) divided by the number of fractionalized ownership (F).

 For example, if a user minted an IPT for InvArch and used it to form a DEV. If the user chooses to bond 1,000 VARCH, and there is a total supply of 10,000 InvArch IPTO, then a single IPTO would be worth 10 VARCH.

When a DEV is proposed and IPTO is offered as equity, a user may request that future partners also bond VARCH to the venture. Following the example prior, if the InvArch DEV was formed by bonding 1,000 VARCH, but is seeking two equal co-founders, then there would be a bonding requirement equal to this initial amount, i.e. 1,000 VARCH.

Subsequently, the value of an individual IPTO would abide by the following:

V = P(Tn) / F

Where the total number of participants (P) is shown.

6.3.3. Venture Unbonding. In the event a DEV is concluded or otherwise dissolved, then the IPTO will be unbonded and liquidated following the inverse function of the bonding process:

L = F(V) / Tn

The total liquidation value (L) is equal to the number of IPTO (F) multiplied by the value per token (V) and divided by the total number of VARCH bonded to the DEV.

6.4. Networking. DEV communications and feeds will be generated via network algorithms designed to pull relevant opportunities and connections. Otherwise, communications and records will be privately secured on the chain.

7. Practical Functions

An overview of some of the possible and intended use cases of the InvArch network. It is expected that further use cases will emerge.

7.1. Startup Incubator. An unparalleled environment emerges through the introduction of the InvArch blockchain. Most notably, users will be able to tokenize their intellectual property as non-fungible tokenized data assets. As a result, they could leverage fractional ownership over their intellectual property to form decentralized and autonomous ventures.

7.2. Partnership Development. This decentralized ecosystem will bridge the gap between ideas and reality for a large number of unforeseen entrepreneurs. By eliminating barriers and risks rooted in trust, the opportunity will be possible for individuals around the globe - regardless of their location, sex, race, religion, creed, or other orientation/identifier. Venture possibilities will be made possible to individuals regardless of their socioeconomic status. Instead, opportunities will be made available at a scale based on their skills and/or ingenuity.

7.3. Finance Capital. With the introduction of fractional ownership over intellectual property in the form of equity in a venture, startups at their earliest stages of inception can have access to financial resources at an unparalleled scale. In tandem, investors will have access to early-stage investments to the largest degree ever made available to them at such a large scale.

7.4. Business Marketplace. In part due to being built utilizing Substrate and deploying to Polkadot, new marketplaces for new industries may emerge. Whether they be a marketplace for technology projects that are also deployed and hosted on the InvArch blockchain, a marketplace or exchange for IPT and/or IPTO, or a marketplace for projects that produce services and/or tangible products - all payable using the network’s native currency (VARCH).

8. Conclusion

We have provided an overview one may follow to author a scalable, and interoperable network for utilizing intellectual property in various forms of business and financial transactions.

Under the said protocol, participants work in enlightened self-interest to create an overall system that can be extended in an exceptionally free manner and without the barriers of trust and theft found in many business instances.

We have issued a rough outline of the network architecture and development that it would take, including the nature of the participants, their economic incentives, and the processes under which they must engage.

We have identified a basic design and discussed its strengths and limitations; accordingly, we have further directions which may further utility and erase those limitations and yield further ground towards a truly decentralized innovation ecosystem.

8.1 References. Thanks to everyone for their help along the way. All errors are my own.

[1] Gavin Wood. Polkadot: Vision For A Heterogeneous Multi-Chain Framework. https://polkadot.network/PolkaDotPaper.pdf

[2] Vitalik Buterin. Ethereum: A next-generation smart contract and decentralized application platform. https://github.com/ ethereum/wiki/wiki/White-Paper, 2013.

[3] Vitalik Buterin. Ethereum 2.0 mauve paper. 2016

[4] Andrew Winterfield. DPOS. https://en.bitcoinwiki.org/wiki/DPoS

[5] Substrate. Substrate Developer Network. https://substrate.dev/

[6] IPwe, IPwe Platform Analytics White Paper https://aboutipwe.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IPwe-Analytics-White-Paper-Fall-2019.pdf

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Visit: https://invarch.io/

DAKOTA BARNETT
FOUNDER, INVARCH TECHNOLOGIES
[email protected]