In what is the biggest cryptocurrency patent commitment to date, Meta has become a member of the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), which encourages innovation by lowering the chance of patent litigation. Meta will also join COPA’s board, alongside Coinbase and Block. Representing Meta will be Shayne O’Reilly, who manages Meta’s licensing and transactions group. The move solidifies COPA’s position as the leading cryptocurrency patent alliance, which is building a collaborative, open-source focused environment to protect core technologies for all users.
Through joining COPA, Meta has pledged not to enforce its core cryptocurrency patents against anyone, except for defensive reasons, effectively making these patents freely available for all to use.
“Meta’s leadership in COPA underlines the importance of protecting open source technologies. Companies large and small can encourage innovation by collaborating on fundamental infrastructure. This is one step further to advancing COPA’s mission, which is to remove legal obstacles so cryptocurrency can become the backbone for transferring value anywhere in the world,” said Max Sills, IP Counsel At Block and General Manager Of COPA.
COPA is building a cross-industry effort with the goal of uniting large technology companies like Meta, financial services organizations, crypto-native companies, and more to protect and advance cryptocurrency innovation. COPA’s over thirty members include Block, Coinbase, MicroStrategy, Kraken, Chaincode Labs, Uniswap and now Meta. For more information on COPA membership, visit: https://www.opencrypto.org/joining/