SEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ: LAES) announced it has received a divisional patent from the European Patent Office (EPO) for its "Back-to-Physical" NFT technology, which embeds non-fungible tokens directly into secure semiconductor chips.

The patent, registered as EP 22200142.2 / EP 4174706 A1, covers the method by which an NFT is provisioned into a tamper-proof semiconductor, creating a cryptographically secured digital identity embedded in a physical chip. The company's patent portfolio also includes a Swiss priority filing (CH 070467/2021, filed October 29, 2021) and a pending U.S. application (US 17/514,296) at the USPTO. A further EPO divisional application remains under examination.

WISe.ART, a digital art marketplace subsidiary of WISeKey International Holding Ltd (SIX: WIHN; NASDAQ: WKEY) and a sister company to SEALSQ, is described in the announcement as the first art platform whose authenticity guarantee is backed by a granted European patent. The platform uses SEALSQ's semiconductor technology to link physical artworks to blockchain-recorded ownership and provenance data.

According to the press release, the system creates a Digital Product Passport that records creation details, ownership history, exhibition records, and transfer documents. The architecture uses post-quantum cryptography and allows authenticity verification without reliance on a central server or third-party database.

Carlos Moreira, CEO of SEALSQ, said, "For the first time, collectors, institutions, and artists have access to provenance that is not only blockchain-recorded but silicon-sealed, post-quantum secured, and independently verifiable without any centralized authority."

WISe.ART conducts transactions using $QAIT, the native utility token of the SEALQuantum ecosystem. The press release notes the global art market transacts approximately $65 billion annually. SEALSQ indicated the patent opens licensing opportunities across luxury goods, collectibles, and cultural heritage sectors.