A renowned cryptocurrency lobbying group called the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance, better known as COPA, has made a move to shield blockchain and crypto organizations from patent trolls. Sources claim that they are using an innovative partnership with the patent-centred group Unified Patents, and COPA has started a crusade against “patent trolls”—non-practising entities.
These entities are well known for engaging others in patent litigation to extract money from other firms despite the fact that they may never manufacture or incorporate the patented technology in their businesses.
COPA Targets ‘Patent Trolls’ hindering Blockchain Development
On October 1, COPA and Unified Patents unveiled themselves as partners and the announcement of the “Blockchain Zone” campaign, which aims at patents owned by NPEs. These NPEs have always been a recurring vice in several technology sectors and these are the main reasons why COPA will not allow these vices to deter the development of crypto and blockchain solutions. The main idea of the campaign is to safeguard fundamental blockchain approaches, including NFTs, producers’ and consumers’ wallets, and smart contracts.
From the campaign’s perspective, patent trolls are entities that hold patents but have no operational use for the technology. Rather, they look for ways to monetize such patents or sue firms that use such innovation without his/her authorization.
“They are expressly, without doubt, impediments to progress,” Grewal continued, who championed the campaign for Coinbase. The above has to be prevented so that the community can go on with the important business of constructing the Crypto-economy.
Unified Patents’ CEO Joins Forces with COPA
Patent litigation is now on the rise in the tech sector; non-practising entities were found to have filed 58% of all patent litigation in the United States the prior year, according to Unified Patents. Of these lawsuits, 95% were directed towards technology firms, which sets the scale of the situation.
Therefore, with Unified Patents as its partner, COPA is determined to ensure that the blockchain sector will not be brought about by junk litigation. Unified Patents service provider CEO Kevin Jakel described the need for it as follows: “Partnership will help to avoid the usual practice of groundless patent claims in the field, which hinder the Crypto sector and other segments of the economy.”
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COPA and Unified Patents themselves are convinced that by actively going after these patent trolls, they can avoid the sort of situations that have held other tech industries hostage.
Previous Patent Trolls Incidents in the Crypto Space
Tomorrow’s blockchain industry has already seen its fair share of patent-related controversies and challenges. Another advocacy group known as the DeFi Education Fund (DEF) in September 2024 came in and seized a patent that belonged to True Return Systems, a non-practising entity that had sued MakerDAO and Compound Finance for infringement. True Return Systems stated that it identified its patent, which binds off-chain data to a blockchain, as being violated by these crypto protocols.
To resolve the lawsuit against MakerDAO and Compound Finance, the DEF bought the patent from True Return Systems by August of 2024. Going further, this case showed that the threat of last patented insiders increases within the crypto space and the necessity of more protection that COPA’s new initiative will provide. Those are not the only cases of patents in the blockchain technology.
Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has also not been immune to a patent scandal with its competitor in the market known as Unstoppable Domains. To this, ENS argued that, unlike Unstoppable Domains, it was the first to use blockchain for the maintenance of domains. Such patent wars only go to show the necessity of presenting a front in order to guard blockchain technology against voracious profiteers who claim ownership of it without having put their effort towards its advancement.
Conclusion
COPA and Unified Patents are now ready to counteract patent trolls, which will be a major leap forward in blockchain security. With the launch of the “Blockchain Zone” campaign, they want to stop companies and individuals using patents as weapons to hinder progress and earn money off the backs of others.
As the use of blockchain technology progresses and NFTs, wallets, and smart contracts take their rightful place, the objective of protecting crypto firms from baseless legal actions has never been more imperative. According to Paul Grewal of Coinbase, “It is high time patent trolls were defeated so as to allow the community to go on creating the crypto-economy. Keep following TheBITJournal and keep an eye on crypto trends and developments.
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