In a recent development within the blockchain domain industry, Nick Johnson, the founder and lead developer of Ethereum Name Service (ENS), has publicly challenged Unstoppable Domains over a patent dispute, raising critical questions about innovation, open-source principles, and the future of domain technology on the blockchain.
Patent dispute sparks tensions between ENS and Unstoppable Domains
Unstoppable Domains, a notable player in blockchain domains, was granted a patent in January 2023, designated US11558344. The patent, involving the work of Braden River Pezeshki, Matthew Everett Gould, and Bogdan Gusiev, focuses on leveraging blockchain technology for domain resolution. However, Johnson contends that this patent encompasses innovations primarily developed by ENS, lacking in novel contributions.
ENS, a distributed and extensible naming system on the Ethereum blockchain, is responsible for mapping human-readable names to machine-readable identifiers such as Ethereum addresses and content hashes. Johnson’s assertion is that ENS’s work, entirely under open-source licenses, directly contradicts the patent held by Unstoppable Domains. He claims that despite attempts to discuss the matter, Unstoppable Domains has remained unresponsive, leading to the potential for legal action.
In a public response, Matthew Gould, an inventor named in the Unstoppable Domains patent, extended an invitation to ENS to join the Web3 Domain Alliance, an industry group with the patent in question. However, Johnson views this as insufficient, arguing that the issue lies in the patent not being licensed openly and is not legally binding.
The open-source ethos at stake
Bob Summerwill, executive director of the Ethereum Classic Cooperative (ETC Cooperative), echoed these concerns. He emphasized that requiring organizations to join the Web3 Domain Alliance to gain rights over the technology contradicts the open-source ethos, potentially hindering innovation and collaboration in the blockchain domain sector.
In contrast, Unstoppable Domains has maintained its stance, suggesting that increased collaboration and discussion within the Web3 Domain Alliance is the path forward. They argue that the rapidly evolving landscape of the industry precludes any forward guarantees regarding patent licensing.