“remains a collaborative space.”
The patent, tagged US11558344, focuses on a blockchain-based domain management technology credited to Unstoppable Domains’ Braden River Pezeshki, Matthew Everett Gould, and Bogdan Gusiev. However, ENS contends that this technology originates from innovations it developed.
ENS Update 🧵: In 2023 Unstoppable Domains (UD) obtained a patent for technology ENS Labs developed as open-source. Today, we petitioned USPTO to challenge the validity of that patent, and to ensure the web remains a collaborative space. Here’s why and what’s at stake. pic.twitter.com/Qxls0kkP6G
— ens.eth (@ensdomains) May 2, 2024
According to Nick Johnson, founder and lead developer of Ethereum Name Service (ENS), the patent is
“based entirely on innovations that ENS developed and contains no novel innovations of its own.”
ENS emphasized its commitment to decentralization and public benefit, stating that the UD patent threatens to distort or destroy its core vision and beliefs. They argue that core web functions must be free and not barricaded by patents. The company described the action as “theft” and vowed to fight to ensure that it is overturned.
In response, Unstoppable Domains founder Matthew Gould defended the validity of the patent, stating that it was reviewed with citations to ENS and other blockchain domain systems. Johnson has subsequently challenged Gould to summarise key innovations in their patent that were not already a part of ENS. Gould did not respond further to ENS and Johnson’s challenges.
ENS’ patent challenge was rejected
The dispute centred on Unstoppable Domains’ “Resolving Blockchain Domains” patent, which was granted in January 2023. The patent covers a system for resolving blockchain-based domain names through smart contracts, including the use of registry and resolver contracts to connect human-readable names with blockchain addresses or other resources.
ENS argued that prior work, including its own technical documentation and implementations, showed that the technology described in the patent was not sufficiently novel.
Its petition sought to invalidate all 20 challenged claims. The PTAB ultimately declined to institute the review, finding that ENS had not demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on its challenges. The proceeding was closed on November 22, 2024.
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Unstoppable Domains kept the patent
The ruling means the patent remains in force, rather than being invalidated through the PTAB process.
Unstoppable Domains has since presented the decision as a victory for its intellectual property strategy. In a November 2025 review of the case, the company said it had not used the patent to pursue enforcement against other Web3 naming projects, including ENS. It reiterated that it intended to use its patents defensively while supporting interoperability across the sector.
That distinction matters because the existence of a patent does not automatically mean competing projects will face lawsuits or licensing demands.
Unstoppable had already pledged non-assertion of the patent for members of the Web3 Domain Alliance and extended that commitment to .eth. The company has described the approach as a way to protect its intellectual property while keeping blockchain naming technology open to development.
The crypto community is divided on the matter
Before now, ENS and Unstoppable Domains partnered to expand support for eth domains. Some members of the crypto community have supported ENS’ move. Adam Cochran from Cinneamhain Ventures argued that ENS designed blockchain names, and they must remain a perpetual public good and open intellectual property. “One of the critical values in this space is building in the open and not creating IP capture,” Cochran noted. Advocacy group DeFi Education Fund also expressed support for ENS.
However, there were voices within the community. One member claimed that ENS has “nothing left for them but to attack UD,” alleging that ENS incites others not to work with UD and exhausts investors with high fees. Another community member accused ENS of attempting to gaslight, arguing that patents are not granted without due process.
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