Crypto Advocacy Group Launches Initiative to Protect Blockchain Developers
COPA will not pay NPEs for patent licenses to ensure financial incentives don’t encourage harmful activities against the blockchain community.
The Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) has teamed up with Unified Patents to launch the Blockchain Zone, a new initiative designed to safeguard blockchain developers from “patent trolls.”
The campaign targets non-practicing entities (NPEs), which hold patents without developing products and often exploit the high costs of litigation to pressure companies into expensive settlements.
Protection for Blockchain Innovators
According to the announcement, NPEs still account for 58% of U.S. cases, figure that has remained unchanged for five years. COPA’s Blockchain Zone joins over 300 companies committed to reducing NPE activity and protecting blockchain technologies from baseless legal claims.
Steve Lee, Lead at Spiral and COPA member, highlighted the organization’s broader efforts referencing their past work challenging false intellectual property claims related to the identity of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
“COPA has fought long and hard to reduce barriers to crypto innovation. Now, we take COPA’s work a step further to protect the crypto community from patent trolls.”
Patent litigation can be expensive and time-consuming, often leading to settlements that stop the progress of smaller companies and innovators in the space. Blockchain Zone aims to change that by providing a defensive strategy that shields developers and companies from frivolous lawsuits.
“Patent trolls are barriers in the path of innovation; they hinder the progress of technology and stifle the spirit of creativity, particularly in the fast-evolving world of cryptocurrency