Uniswap has secured a decisive courtroom victory against organizations linked to Bancor, ending a closely watched patent dispute over automated market maker (AMM) technology and delivering a boost to the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.
On February 11, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams revealed on X that a federal court had ruled in the exchange’s favour. The lawsuit centred on whether the core formula powering automated token swaps on Uniswap could be legally protected under patent law.
A lawyer just told me we won https://t.co/IakITk0F3Q
— Hayden Adams 🦄 (@haydenzadams) February 11, 2026
Court rejects patent claims over AMM model
The legal battle began in May 2025, when Bprotocol Foundation and LocalCoin Ltd., both associated with Bancor, filed suit in a New York federal court. The plaintiffs argued that Uniswap Labs and the Uniswap Foundation had infringed on a patent granted in 2017.
At the heart of the dispute was the constant product AMM model, widely recognized by the formula xy=k*. This mechanism underpins how liquidity pools automatically price tokens on many decentralized exchanges.
Bancor-linked entities claimed Uniswap had used the patented method since its 2018 launch without authorization and sought financial damages for several years of alleged infringement.
Uniswap firmly denied the accusations, maintaining that its protocol has always been open-source and publicly accessible. The company also contended that the patent sought to claim ownership of fundamental mathematical principles used in blockchain-based systems.
Broader implications for DeFi innovation
The case drew significant attention across the crypto industry, as it raised broader concerns about whether foundational DeFi mechanisms could be restricted through intellectual property claims.
Industry advocates, including the DeFi Education Fund and the Solana Institute, submitted statements in support of Uniswap. They warned that allowing patents to limit widely adopted financial formulas could hinder innovation in open-source ecosystems.
According to individuals familiar with the ruling, the court found that the claims did not meet the legal threshold for patent infringement, particularly given the transparent, publicly shared nature of Uniswap’s code.
Legal observers say the decision underscores the difficulty of enforcing patents on basic financial algorithms that are openly distributed and widely implemented.
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