THELOGICALINDIAN - Amazon ATT Bank of America Goldman Sachs IBM JPMorgan Mastercard R3 Western Union Verizon These are aloof a few of the corporations which accept filed blockchainrelated apparent applications common But what about bitcoinspecific apparent applications not blockchain
Also Read: IP Trolling Becoming Threat as More Firms File Blockchain Patents
Bitcoin Can’t Be Patented
Because Satoshi Nakamoto appear the Bitcoin white cardboard and abolished anon afterwards absolution the aboriginal versions of the agenda currency, Bitcoin is allotment of the accessible domain. Only atypical additions, variations, and use-cases ability be patented about the technology. A chase of the United States Patent and Trademark Office database reveals 148 patents which acknowledgment the appellation bitcoin.
“Bitcoin inventions about absorb applications of, or improvements to, the Bitcoin protocol,” Attorney Howard H. Sheerin of Silicon Valley IP tells Bitcoin.com. “Bitcoin inventions are about software inventions with the apparent claims accoutrement operations accomplished by a accepted purpose computer.”
Bitcoin Companies Apply For Patents
For example, bitcoin miner Bitmain has filed the following patent; the aggregation describes its “Optimizing method, device, and ambit for Hash accretion dent of bitcoin affidavit of work” which “relates to the abstruse acreage of blank computing, computer network, and chip circuits.”
Bitmain adds in a 2024 application: “The method, accessory and ambit provided by the apparatus abundantly abate the ability burning of the circuit.”
21 Inc’s patent appliance for a “Digital bill mining chip with adjustable adversity analyze capabilities” represents a “cryptographic hashing chip such as mining chip acclimated to abundance agenda bill may be formed on an integrated circuit…”
Bitgo’s appliance pertains to “virtual bill abode security.” As declared in the application, “The arrangement accessory is configured to accomplish a agenda bill abode application the accessible keys of the two or added additional public-private key pairs and a accessible key of the aboriginal public-private key pair.”
San Francisco-based barter Coinbase has filed several applications, including a patent for a “security arrangement basic allotment of a bitcoin host computer.”
Coinbase additionally filed a patent for a “computer arrangement for authoritative a acquittal appliance a tip button.” The appliance describes a arrangement by which “bitcoin can be beatific to an email address, ” and a “tip button rewards agreeable creators for their efforts.” Additionally declared is a bitcoin barter enabling “users to set prices that they are accommodating to advertise or buy bitcoin and assassinate such trades.” Coinbase has abundant patents filed globally.
Blockchain Patents, Not Bitcoin
Popular allowance agenda for bitcoin aggregation Gyft filed for a blockchain-related patent. The aggregation describes a “method for accouterment artifice aegis and transaction archetype for allowance agenda accounts through the use of a accessible blockchain ledger.” In the patent, agenda allowance cards are associated with tokens that can be beatific amid user accounts.
Gyft adds: “Numerous types of affairs are appear to the blockchain balance including antecedent purchases, reserving/claiming of debit codes, transfers of tokens amid accounts, and annihilative of allowance agenda amount associated with a token.”
As well, blockchain technology aggregation Blockstream filed a patent for a arrangement which encrypts “an bulk transacted on a blockchain balance while attention the transaction’s adeptness to be verified.”
Non-Bitcoin Entities Applying for Bitcoin Patents
Many non-bitcoin entities accept filed patents absolute blockchain-related language.
Craig Wright, who controversially claimed to be the bitcoin architect but bootless to accommodate proof, filed dozens of apparent applications with the UK Intellectual Property Office.
Nautilus Hyosung, a all-around provider of cyberbanking industry products, filed a apparent affirmation for a “bitcoin transaction arrangement application ATM.”
Nautilus Hyosung describes: “…[B]y abutting a administration server for managing ATMs with a bitcoin barter bazaar server…a applicant can acquirement bitcoin from the bitcoin barter bazaar by depositing banknote anon application the ATM or advertise own bitcoin to the bitcoin barter bazaar and abjure cash.”
Patent-Worthy?
“Some industry participants article to software patents for accoutrement simple inventions that unfairly impede innovation,” Mr. Sheerin notes. “Recent cloister decisions are affectionate to this affair and accept invalidated assertive software patents accoutrement inventions on acclaimed or accessible account that are alone implemented application a accepted purpose computer.”
This does not beggarly all software inventions are unpatentable, including those accompanying to bitcoin.
“The courts accept begin software patents accurate back the basal abstraction of a software apparatus improves the operation of a accepted purpose computer in a address not appropriate by the above-mentioned art,” Mr. Sheerin explains. “The acknowledged catechism for Bitcoin inventions is the aforementioned as for added types of inventions: does the patented apparatus awning a novel, non-obvious idea? This accepted will acceptable be activated to bitcoin inventions creating a spectrum alignment from acutely patentable inventions, to questionably patentable inventions, to acutely unpatentable inventions.”
Defensive Patents
Bitcoin patents, alike back captivated by companies in acceptable standing, accession affair in the Bitcoin Community. Let abandoned back captivated by bunch corporations.
To dissuade concern, Bitgo and Blockstream adopted Innovators Apparent Agreement (IPA), a new way of apparent appointment pioneered by Twitter to accumulate ascendancy with engineers and designers. It’s a charge by a aggregation that a apparent can alone be acclimated for arresting purposes. Coinbase wrote in a November blog post it was aptitude appear adopting a Formal Apparent Pledge.
MIT Digital Currency Initiative Brian Forde has floated the abstraction of a arresting apparent basin like the Open Invention Network for Linux.
What do you anticipate about the technologies declared in bitcoin-related patents? Let us apperceive in the comments below.
Images address of Coinbase, Gyft, Shutterstock
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