Some advocates for a more vibrant cryptocurrency space are hoping that open patents can provide a shot in the arm to defi – and they’re getting a powerful new partner, albeit one with a significant black eye in terms of user base and revenue.
Shiraz Jagati at Cointelegraph reports this morning that the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) is committed to trying to foster those two major ideas that decentralized systems were built to create – transparency, and an open source model.
Now, Jagati says, Meta is joining the fold as a member of COPA.
In doing so, Jagati reports, Meta will consider treatment of its core patents on “creation, mining, storage, transmission, settlement, integrity or security of cryptocurrencies.”
One of the goals is to create a patent library that’s cooperative, and to reduce litigation around cryptocurrency patents.
The effort has won accolades from enthusiasts like Jack Dorsey, formerly of Twitter.
Jagati notes that COPA wants t0o continue “solidifying pathways” for the kinds of alternate cooperative systems that could break apart patent bottlenecks on crypto.
Although the effort sounds like a way to make progress with defi, some analysts argue that Bitcoin IP tends to be fiercely protected.
For example, one entrepreneur quoted in Jagati’s coverage, Humayun Sheikh, the CEO and founder of Fetch.ai, suggests that COPA will have its work cut out for it.
“When asked about what organizations like COPA can potentially achieve to help strengthen the crypto sector, Sheikh stated that while, on paper, the vision of such alliances may sound quite appealing, blockchain is an intensely contested space where companies will be keen to protect their patents,” Jagati writes.
Meanwhile, some are wondering if this represents a comeback for Meta, after the failed Libra project (later called Diem) and the loss of users and everything else that has battered the former Facebook in recent months.
Stay tuned.