Meh, who cares - experimentation is good.
We know that other big players are using Bitcoin or inventing platforms that embrace it. For example, Alcatel Lucent (Bell Labs) published a patent application not long ago that claims an electronic transfer system that explicitly embraces bitcoin, but not exclusively:
The present invention provides in an embodiment a method and apparatus for use in a decentralized electronic currency system that solves the usability issue with the above solution to key management, while also providing a generic mechanism for reducing the risk of loss of funds, i.e. any amount of currency the user may have accumulated as a result of past transactions. The method is based on the use of two electronic devices, a first 'safe' one, which is to be stored carefully and possibly regularly backed up, and a second 'unsafe' one, which is suitable to be installed on portable devices and used for payments in mobility context. Bitcoin is a decentralized electronic currency system using peer-to-peer networking, digital signatures and cryptographic proof-of-work to enable irreversible transfers (payments) between parties without relying on trust. Payments are made in bitcoins, a digital currency issued and transferred by the Bitcoin network. Nodes broadcast transactions to the network, which records them in a public history after validating them through a consensus-based proof-of-work system. The present invention is not limited to Bitcoin, and is applicable in other decentralized electronic systems where transfers are made.
For a correct understanding of the invention, hereafter some terms are defined. A repository is a physical or digital holder of funds. A digital holder of funds is an object or address to which funds are assigned or linked. In Bitcoin, funds are assigned to public-private keys. Therefore in the description of the present invention, each public-private key is a repository since funds can be assigned to such key.
TITLE: Decentralized electronic transfer system (
http://www.google.com/patents/WO2013127713A1?cl=en)
