The Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance is campaigning against “patent trolls,” asserting that these entities stand in the way of crypto innovation.
To tackle ‘patent trolls’ in blockchain, the crypto group COPA has initiated a new campaign.
The advocacy group Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) and Unified Patents have come together to kick off a campaign against “patent trolls” that prey on blockchain and crypto technology.
COPA shared in an October 1 blog post that they introduced the “Blockchain Zone,” a campaign addressing patents owned by non-practicing entities (NPEs), which cover various technologies including NFTs, wallets, and smart contracts.
According to COPA, the partnership aims to shield blockchain firms and developers from “unwarranted and costly” lawsuits initiated by patent trolls, or NPEs, who leverage the high costs of litigation to push for settlements.
Patent trolls, or hoarders, are entities that seek to profit from holding patents by licensing them or filing lawsuits against those who use them without authorization.
These entities often do not make use of the patent for their own purposes.
Unified Patents noted that last year, these entities accounted for 58% of all patent litigation in the U.S. and directed their efforts at tech companies 95% of the time.
“Patent trolls are barriers in the path of innovation,” said Coinbase’s legal chief, Paul Grewal. “They must be stopped so that the community can continue to do the important business of building the crypto-economy.”
Unified Patents CEO Kevin Jakel said the partnership ensures the crypto sector “won’t be hindered by the all-too-common baseless patent assertions affecting other sectors of the economy.”
The crypto market has experienced its share of purported patent trolls.
Read also: Coinbase launches a $6M fund to back NFT creators with legal challenges
In September, the DeFi Education Fund (DEF) attempted to cancel a patent owned by True Return Systems, which relates to linking off-chain data to a blockchain and had led to infringement claims against MakerDAO (now Sky) and Compound Finance.
True Return sold the patent to DEF in August as part of a settlement that effectively dismissed its claims against Sky and Compound.
In the meantime, the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is opposing a patent issued to rival Unstoppable Domains, which states it developed technology that uses blockchain to identify domains, asserting that ENS was the true pioneer of the technology.
