The DeFi Education Fund (DEF) has acquired a patent from True Return Systems (TRS), which was the basis for lawsuits filed against MakerDAO and Compound Protocol, both of which are decentralized autonomous organizations, over claims of patent infringement.

The patent in question involves an “oracle-like” system designed for the “separation and linkage of stacked modular data storage and processing.” DEF has announced plans to dedicate the patent to the public domain, effectively barring it from being used in similar legal disputes in the future.

Dispute Over Data Storage Patent

DEF has labeled TRS as a “patent troll,” referring to entities that exploit patent claims with little or no intention of producing the patented technology. In a petition submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in September, DEF argued that the technology patented by TRS in 2018 was not novel, as it was already widely used. DEF identified four pre-existing technologies from 2014 and 2016 that performed similar functions.

Technology similar to the TRS patent. Source: DeFi Education Fund

The USPTO is tasked with responding within six months to decide if it will review the patent and potentially rule on its cancellation within 12 months. DEF’s Chief Legal Officer, Amanda Tuminelli, mentioned in a statement shared with Cointelegraph that the patent purchase effectively resolves the lawsuits.

Attempt to Monetize the Patent

TRS had previously filed lawsuits against MakerDAO and Compound Protocol in October 2022, seeking damages for alleged patent infringement and aiming to prevent the DAOs from using the technology in question. Tuminelli highlighted in a social media post in September that TRS’s strategy was to target defendants incapable of defending themselves, allowing TRS to obtain a default judgment and subsequently enforce it against token holders. She stated that “patent trolls” often select targets lacking the means or resources to challenge them legally.

In a novel move, TRS attempted to sell the patent as a non-fungible token (NFT) on OpenSea in November 2021. This effort, believed to be the first instance of patent tokenization, was unsuccessful as it did not attract any buyers. TRS initially sought 2,250 Ether (approximately $2,650 at the time) for the NFT but rejected the sole offer of 0.69 ETH.

As of the article’s publication, TRS’s website was offline. The company’s founder, Jack Fonss, passed away in March.

Source: Cointelegraph