SIAE Partners with Algorand for Efficient Management of Copyright on Blockchain

ROME, December 6, 2019 - SIAE, the Italian company for collective copyright management, will be partnering with Algorand for the development of a new open ecosystem for copyright management based on Algorand’s recently launched, high performance blockchain platform. SIAE had previously initiated the project with the support of La Sapienza University of Rome and the startup Blockchain Core, relying on Hyperledger. SIAE has now decided to focus on the Algorand platform due to the fact that it is decentralized by design and has high performance.

Algorand uses a pure proof-of-stake (PPoS) protocol that guarantees decentralization, scalability and security, making it particularly suitable for reliable management of all metadata and transactions necessary for proper rights management. Both Algorand and SIAE are aware that, in the very near future, copyright management will use blockchain technology. Their collaboration will allow the evolution and strengthening of tools and services for copyright management to create new open and accessible solutions, further improving efficiency and intermediation activity.

“Imagine future solutions that guarantee greater efficiency and transparency to our associates. The opportunities offered by technology are at the same time a duty and a privilege for us, the sixth largest collecting society in the world, as we are at the center of international protection for authors,” said SIAE General Manager Gaetano Blandini. “The world is evolving, but the founding mission of the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, the protection of creativity, does not change. Our collaboration with Algorand is part of a process already started and is aligned with research and innovation on a national and global scale. Together we continue to write a story that began 137 years ago and that today embraces the future."

"Collaboration between technology providers and forward thinking organizations such as SIAE opens up vast opportunities for progression towards new economic models that promote inclusivity, transparency, and frictionless transactions," said Professor Silvio Micali, Turing award winner and founder of Algorand. "I am honored that SIAE has selected the Algorand blockchain to serve as the backbone of its new initiative and look forward to seeing their solutions brought to life by the performance and functionality released in Algorand 2.0."

About SIAE

Founded in Milan in 1882, SIAE (Italian Society of Authors and Publishers) is a public economic institution and membership base for the management of copyright, ranked sixth in the world ranking of companies collecting, as confirmed by the data of the Global Collections Report 2018, published by CISAC (Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Auteurs et Compositeurs). Every year SIAE releases more than 1.2 millions of licenses for the use of works protected by it, guaranteeing payment to authors and publishers the right compensation for their work. SIAE also supports the Italian cultural and creative industry with economic contributions for numerous artistic initiatives, and it is at the side of various social activities and solidarity.

About Algorand Inc.

Algorand Inc. built the world’s first open source, permissionless, pure proof-of-stake blockchain protocol for the next generation of financial products. This blockchain, the Algorand protocol, is the brainchild of Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali. A technology company dedicated to removing friction from financial exchange, Algorand Inc. is powering the DeFi evolution by enabling the creation and exchange of value, building new financial tools and services, bringing assets on-chain and providing responsible privacy models.

For more information, visit https://www.algorand.com/