- Facebook owner Meta has joined the Open Crypto Patent Alliance (COPA)
- Meta joins Coinbase, Blockstream, and Block in maintaining an open blockchain ecosystem
- COPA is suing Craig Wright over his supposed ownership of the Bitcoin whitepaper
Meta, owner of the Facebook platform, has joined the Open Crypto Patent Alliance (COPA) in a move that will please some and infuriate others (including one particularly notable individual). COPA, which aims to ensure the open growth of the blockchain space by limiting the use of patents, already features a number of big names such as Block (formerly Square), Coinbase, and Blockstream, and adding Meta to the fold further increases COPA’s ability to push its agenda.
Meta Involvement is Biggest Commitment to Date, Says COPA
COPA was founded in January 2021 with the stated aim of encouraging “the adoption and advancement of cryptocurrency technologies and to remove patents as a barrier to growth and innovation.” To this end, it took swift action against Craig Wright soon after the latter’s attempts to sue a selection of websites hosting the Bitcoin whitepaper, a battle that continues to this day and that saw a recent loss for Wright in the British courts.
In a blog post yesterday, COPA called Meta’s involvement “the biggest cryptocurrency patent commitment to date”, with its participation ensuring that it will “not to enforce its core cryptocurrency patents against anyone, except for defensive reasons”, in stark contrast to the actions taken by Wright in recent years.
Wright Not a Believer in Open Patents
In December, Wright addressed the issue of open patents to his BSV slack community:
So, any time you hear of a patent group opening up innovation, remember this is a complete scam. You do not spend potentially millions to have the same end as a blog post would achieve. Google, Facebook, SilyCon Vallet all tell these lies. They have OTHERS lose, as they steal.
Wright has also labelled social media “completely…a time wasting exercise”, so it’s unlikely that Meta’s joining of COPA is going to ease his dislike of the medium for a number of reasons.
