Ethereum Name Service Developer Accuses Unstoppable Domains of Patenting ENS Innovation

According to Blockworks, Ethereum Name Service's (ENS) lead developer Nick Johnson has accused Unstoppable Domains of patenting an innovation allegedly made by ENS. Johnson criticized Unstoppable Domains for the lack of legal backing or binding behind its Web3 Domain Alliance group, which it both founded and runs. He claims that ENS and Unstoppable Domains attempted to discuss the situation outside of social media but failed to make headway. Johnson also stated that ENS has not pursued patents on their work. The issue can be traced back to January when Unstoppable was granted a patent, Resolving Blockchain Domains, based on innovations that ENS developed and contains no novel innovations of its own, according to Johnson. He requested that Unstoppable Domains put legal weight behind its PR commitment with an unconditional and irrevocable patent pledge. If the two remain at odds on the issue, then ENS stands ready to challenge the patent. In response to Johnson's open letter, Unstoppable founder Matthew Gould reiterated the open invite to join the Alliance, though Johnson said that the issue was that the patent was not being licensed openly. Gould stated that there are no forward guarantees that can be made given the changing landscape of the industry and emphasized the need for increased collaboration and discussion. He added that Unstoppable will keep the door open for further dialogue.