DEF purchases patent at center of suits against MakerDAO and Compound

The patent in question is a “method and system for separating storage and process of a computerized ledger for improved function”

article-image

DeFi Education Fund and Adobe stock modified by Blockworks

share

The DeFi Education Fund said it purchased a patent from True Return Systems that will end litigation against MakerDAO and Compound Protocol.

The patent in question is a “method and system for separating storage and process of a computerized ledger for improved function.” The patent was approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office back in 2018. 

On Monday, DEF said it had “reached an agreement” to purchase the patent from TRS, leading to the immediate dismissal of the cases. 

Read more from our opinion section: Crypto can benefit from patents without losing its open source ethos 

DEF said it plans to dedicate the patent to the public to avoid it being used against any other projects deploying oracle technology. 

Loading Tweet..

“Today, we are pleased to announce that we have purchased the patent held by True Return Systems that claims the invention of oracle-like technology and was being used to sue MakerDAO and Compound. As a result of our settlement with TRS, TRS will dismiss the legal proceedings against MakerDAO and Compound Protocol,” Amanda Tuminelli, chief legal officer at DEF, said in a statement. 

True Return Systems and patent inventor Jack Fonss accused both MakerDAO and Compound of patent infringement. They claimed that the patent covered systems linking off-chain data to a blockchain. The company launched its suits against both Maker and Compound in the fall of 2022. 

According to the patent page, it covers the “system, method and computer readable storage medium for storing, creating, monitoring, managing, and modifying measurement, descriptive differences and parameters of the records of distributed computerized ledgers works through a separation and linkage of stacked modular data storage and processing.”

Tuminelli, in an X post last September, said that TRS had previously attempted to sell the patent as an NFT on OpenSea “for millions of dollars.” The OpenSea page shows that the patent was initially listed for 2,250 WETH, or $6 million in today’s conversion. It was lowered to 1,250 WETH ($3.3 million) three years ago, but no offers near that range were made. 

“Patenting technology that is widely used, like oracle technology, is antithetical to the ethos of open-source software development. And as anyone with access to GitHub knows, TRS was absolutely not the first to ‘invent’ this technology,” she wrote

True Return Systems filed a voluntary dismissal of its suits against both Maker and Compound.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (15).png

Research

A spot listing on Binance can support highly favorable short term returns. Tokens that TGE on Binance exhibit lower short term returns when compared to tokens that receive the listing after TGE. Both spot and futures listings support higher returns, while a spot listing is historically more favorable. Tokens that have yet to receive a Binance spot listing may be trading at a 30-50% discount to their market value upon receiving a Binance spot listing.

article-image

AI agent tokens crash to $8 billion from a $20 billion peak

article-image

The hardest part about crime season is uncovering that we’re in one

article-image

Fundamentals are starting to play a big part in crypto, so here are the metrics to watch

article-image

MetaDAO’s founder thinks MetaDAO can become the default governance platform for Solana within six to 18 months

article-image

While some view the firm’s BTC buying pause as a bearish development, a couple analysts think differently

article-image

Tariffs issued on three of the US’s biggest trading partners sent global markets into a tailspin