Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook and presently doing business as Meta, has recently joined the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA). The company, at present, is the latest and biggest crypto technology patent holder to join COPA, thereby expanding the pool of Intellectual Property (IP) assets that could be significantly used to safeguard the industry from litigation.
The move comes on the heels of Meta winding down its crypto project, the Diem Association. As per various recent reports, Diem is selling its technology (IP assets) to Silvergate Bank (Based in San Diego) for $200 million to pay back the investors.
COPA is a consortium of crypto and technology companies led by Block, which is Jack Dorsey’s payments company and was formerly known as Square Inc. It was established two years ago in September as an organization that encourages and supports blockchain-related innovation and growth by reducing the likelihood of Patent Litigation. According to Dorsey, the creation of an alliance by requiring the members to share their owned patents with COPA’s collective patent library is a crucial step in helping the crypto community safeguard itself against patent aggressors and trolls.
Not long after its establishment, in 2021, COPA filed a lawsuit against the Australian computer scientist widely known for his debated claim to be the inventor of Bitcoin, Craig Wright. His legal team had sent a cease-and-desist letter to COPA in an attempt to copyright the Bitcoin white paper – an issue that has bedeviled the crypto community for years.
By becoming a member of COPA, Meta has pledged not to enforce any of its core cryptocurrency patents other than for defensive reasons. According to the General Manager of COPA, Max Sills, the previously mentioned statement includes any technology that allows the creation, transmission, storage, mining, security, integrity, or settlement of cryptocurrencies. It also implies that the patents owned by Meta would be freely available for anyone to utilize.
COPA includes over two dozen other major technology and crypto firms, such as Kraken (a US-based cryptocurrency exchange and bank), Uniswap (a cryptocurrency exchange that uses a decentralized network protocol), MicroStrategy (an American company providing mobile software, business intelligence, and cloud-based services), Coinbase (an American company operating a cryptocurrency exchange platform), to name a few.
Many companies and firms count themselves as members of COPA; however, according to Sills, Meta is the largest company to date based on the number of patents it owns. With Meta joining COPA, the organization has said in a recent statement delivered that it is closer to accomplishing its ultimate objective of advancing cryptocurrency innovation through partnerships among big financial organizations, tech giants, and crypto companies. Sills believes that this move is undoubtedly one step further to advancing COPA’s mission, i.e., to remove all the legal barriers so that cryptocurrency can become the backbone for transferring value anywhere globally.
The head of Meta’s licensing and transactions group, Shayne O’Reilly, will be seen representing Meta on COPA’s board of directors, making Meta the 6th voting member of COPA’s board. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com
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