ENS vs. Unstoppable Domains: Patent Dispute Escalates

Nick Johnson, the founder and lead developer of Ethereum Name Service (ENS), has publicly challenged Unstoppable Domains over a patent issue, threatening legal action in an open letter posted on X (formerly Twitter). The dispute centers around a patent granted to Unstoppable Domains in January, which Johnson claims is based on ENS’s innovations.

Background of the Dispute

In January 2023, Unstoppable Domains was awarded patent US11558344, which covers a technology for determining domains using blockchain. The patent, filed in 2021, lists Braden River Pezeshki, Matthew Everett Gould, and Bogdan Gusiev as inventors. However, Johnson alleges that this patent is entirely derived from ENS’s work, which has been developed under open-source licenses and is publicly available.

ENS’s Stance

ENS’s documentation describes its role in mapping human-readable names to machine-readable identifiers on the Ethereum blockchain. Johnson asserts that all of ENS’s work is open-source, and he has made several unsuccessful attempts to discuss the matter with Unstoppable Domains. In his letter, Johnson emphasizes the need for Unstoppable Domains to legally commit to their PR statements regarding the patent, which they have pledged to the Web3 Domain Alliance, an industry group founded by Unstoppable Domains.

Matthew Gould, one of the alleged inventors named in the patent and associated with Unstoppable Domains, responded to the thread. He invited ENS to join the Web3 Domain Alliance and argued for the need for multiple naming systems in the blockchain space. However, this response has not fully addressed the concerns raised by Johnson.

The crypto community, including figures like Bob Summerwill of the Ethereum Classic Cooperative (ETC Cooperative), has taken note of the dispute. Summerwill pointed out that requiring organizations to join the Web3 Domain Alliance to benefit from the patent pledge undermines the open-source ethos. He criticized the approach as potentially allowing Unstoppable Domains to retain the right to attack entities that do not comply with their alliance.

This dispute highlights the tensions between innovation, open-source principles, and intellectual property rights in the blockchain domain. The outcome of this disagreement could have significant implications for how blockchain technologies and innovations are shared and developed in the future.