Global asset management company Northern Trust has been awarded two U.S. Patents for distributed ledger technology (DLT) inventions for a range of fund administration activities.

According to the official release, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued patents for two of Northern Trust’s technology inventions out of several patent applications:

• Digital Identity Management – Systems and Methods for Digital Identity Management and Permission Controls Within Distributed Network Nodes.
• Digital Meeting Management – Systems and Methods for Generating and Maintaining Immutable Digital Meeting Records with Distributed Network Nodes.

“We have developed a number of blockchain innovations that may be applied to multiple business activities and product offerings, with private equity fund administration being only one example of many potential use cases,” Justin Chapman, Global Head of Market Advocacy & Innovation Research at Northern Trust, said. “Our solutions are designed with the intention of increasing value for our clients by promoting asset safety, reducing transactional friction, increasing transparency and driving efficiency in the investment lifecycle.”

In February 2017, Northern Trust launched the first commercial deployment of blockchain technology for private equity. Earlier this year, it announced that it has developed a solution that would allow audit firms to carry out audits of private equity lifecycle events directly from the blockchain.