Jack Dorsey, the CEO of both Twitter and Square, has one word in his Twitter bio – #Bitcoin.
With an influential presence in both social media and financial services, Jack once again has used his position to advance the ideals of Bitcoin and financial freedom. Jack continued the tradition on September 10th with a big announcement – that a new coalition from Square named COPA would do all they can to “defend against patent aggressors and trolls.”
COPA, standing for Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance, is the new initiative created by Square to keep crypto and Bitcoin free and open. Their invitation to join extends to anyone in the space, regardless of their ownership of a patent. Members of the coalition will work together to prevent outside forces from locking up patents from those looking to stifle growth with greedy intentions. Furthermore, the coalition will unite smaller, less powerful crypto companies, projects, or developers from the onslaught of attackers should they ever be sued.
COPA’s strategy takes a two-pronged approach. First, members must pledge that “they will never assert their patents on foundational cryptocurrency technology against anyone except for defensive purposes.” This commitment’s intention is to even the playing field for the little guy who can’t yet compete with the giants. Second, COPA is creating a “shared patent library” in the event that, if a smaller company is ever attacked, a shared patent can protect their innovation, thus acting as a shield.
Jack and Square’s announcement was met with widespread support and praise from across the crypto space. In a community built around the ideals of democracy and accessibility, it is amazing to see people of power stepping forward to protect those without an equivalent voice. So thank you Jack for protecting our financial freedom, and for many, our livelihoods.
#ThankYouJack
By: Adam Tarlowski