Author: Btc Drak 2016-10-02 19:36:06
Published on: 2016-10-02T19:36:06+00:00
A concern has been raised about the potential impact of undisclosed patents on Bitcoin development. It is important for consensus code to avoid unnecessary entanglements with patents in order to retain Bitcoin's permissionless qualities. There is a worry that consensus change proposals could be hindered by patents and impede everyone's ability to deploy. Sergio Demian Lerner proposed an extra nonce space BIP, but had already applied for his ASICBOOST patent without disclosure. The ASICBOOST patent describes the same process as in the BIP and proposed code. Peter Todd expressed concern about the lack of disclosure of Lerner's patents related to his prior consensus modification proposal when Lerner proposed a new sidechain BIP. There is no evidence that other filers for ASICBOOST-like patents by mining companies other than Lerner's own were going to use it offensively. However, it is still important to avoid unnecessary hindrance to Bitcoin development from patents. Lerner has committed to looking into the Defensive Patent License, but it would be a show of good faith if he also agreed to license ASICBOOST under the DPL.
Updated on: 2023-06-11T20:18:05.390993+00:00