COPA and Unified Patents launch ‘Blockchain Zone’ to combat patent trolls

Crypto advocacy group COPA has partnered with Unified Patents to launch a campaign targeting “patent trolls.”

The Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance has partnered with Unified Patents, a member-based organization specializing in patent advisory services, to create the “Blockchain District,” announced Oct. 1.

The initiative aims to protect blockchain developers and companies from legal challenges brought by non-practicing organizations and patent trolls looking to profit from these lawsuits.

For those unaware, Patent trolls are individuals or organizations that hold patents for the sole purpose of making a profit through licensing or litigation, in most cases with no intention of developing or using the technology themselves.

Founded in 2020 by Jack Dorsey, who founded fintech firm Block, formerly known as Square, COPA focuses on ensuring that important crypto technologies remain free for everyone to use. Prominent COPA members include MicroStrategy, Worldcoin, Kraken and Blockstream.

Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer of COPA founding member Coinbase, stressed the need to stop such entities, calling patent trolls “obstacles to innovation” and adding that they impede progress and stifle creativity.

NPEs were reportedly responsible for 58% of all patent litigation last year, with the majority of cases directed at tech companies like Samsung, Google, and Apple.

The history of patent trolls in the crypto space

In the crypto space, there have already been allegations of patent trolling. Recall that the DeFi Education Fund (DEF), a Washington DC-based policy research group, moved to revoke a patent belonging to True Return Systems (TRS) last year.

TRS had sued MakerDAO and Compound Finance for allegedly infringing its patent connecting off-chain data to a blockchain. The WEF called TRS a “patent troll” and argued that the patent should never have been granted.

Kevin Jakel, CEO of Unified Patents, said the launch of the Blockchain Zone aims to prevent such legal challenges from slowing down development and ensure that the blockchain industry remains free from “unfounded patent claims.”

As part of the collaboration, COPA members will receive pass-through protection at no cost; This means they won’t have to face legal threats from NPEs without help.

The new initiative continues COPA’s work, which includes past efforts to debunk false intellectual property claims within the community.

COPA, in particular, is the name of Dr. Satoshi Nakamoto, who claims to be the anonymous creator of Bitcoin. Craig filed a lawsuit against Wright. In March 2024, after a long legal battle, UK Supreme Court Judge James Mellor concluded that Wright was not involved in the development of Bitcoin and was not Satoshi.