In Brief:
- Meta joined Crypto Open Patent Alliance(COPA) alongside Coinbase, Block and over two dozen other technology companies.
- The aim is to encourage innovation by reducing the chance of patent litigation.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has become a member of the Crypto Open Patent Alliance(COPA), a consortium of crypto and tech companies led by Jack Dorsey’s payment company Block (formerly known as Square). COPA aims to encourage innovation by reducing the chance of patent litigation.
By joining COPA, Meta has pledged not to enforce its core cryptocurrency patents against anybody except for defensive purposes, making these patents publicly available for all. Along with that, Meta will also join COPA’s board, alongside Coinbase and over two dozen other companies who pledged the same.
“Meta’s strong presence in the crypto space will advance COPA’s mission which is to remove legal obstacles so cryptocurrency can become the backbone for transferring value anywhere in the world,” says Max Sills.
COPA is building a cross-industry effort with the goal of uniting tech. companies like meta, crypto-native companies, financial services organizations, and more. COPA’s over thirty members include Block, Coinbase, Kraken, Chaincode Labs, Uniswap, MicroStrategy, and now Meta.
Max Sills, the general manager of COPA defines this as – “Technology that enables the creation, transmission, mining, storage, settlement, integrity, or security of cryptocurrencies.”
The initiative can potentially keep COPA at the forefront as the leading cryptocurrency patent alliance. Moreover, this alliance intends to build a collaborative, open-source-focused environment to protect essential technologies for all users.
The move comes as the stable coin initiative of Meta, ‘Diem’ winds down when the company is reportedly trying to sell its assets to return funds to investors. Though the ‘Diem’ project is in much ambiguity, Meta recently came into focus when it announced its plan to integrate NFT display features on Facebook and Instagram.