Coinbase sued for $350M, alleging patent infringement by blockchain firm Veritaseum

SNEAK PEEK

  • Coinbase has recently been sued for violating a patent owned by Veritaseum.
  • The cryptocurrency company demands $350 million in damages from the exchange.
  • Coinbase & Veritaseum have a past with the SEC.

The biggest crypto exchange in the United States, Coinbase, has been accused of infringing on a patent pertaining to its blockchain technology by blockchain-based software firm Veritaseum Capital, which is now seeking $350 million in damages.

According to a case filed in the U.S. District Court in Delaware by the law firm Brundidge & Stanger, Veritaseum claims that Coinbase infringed on its cryptocurrency payment transfer technology patent, recognized as the “566 Patent.”

Veritaseum claims the Patent tends to revolve around “novel devices, systems, and methods” that allow parties to “enforce value transfer agreements” with “little or no trust” in one another and claims Coinbase was using this for some of its blockchain infrastructure services:

The Patent is also relevant to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and Proof of work (PoW) blockchains, which could facilitate the transfer of cryptocurrency payments, trading, as well as staking services on chains backed by those consensus protocols, according to the law firm.

Veritaseum Capital has experienced damages as a direct and proximate effect, according to Veritaseum, while Coinbase gained large profits by virtue of its infringement, which was used to support the $350 million figure.

The lawyers added that Coinbase had advanced knowledge, should have known, or at least was deliberately blind to the ‘566 Patent. They also mentioned that Veritaseum had previously written to Coinbase in July to alert it of its claimed violation. 

Defendant received notice of the ‘566 Patent from such sources or parties at least as early as July 3, 2022, if not before.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Vertiaseum founder Reginald “Reggie” Middleton and co-inventor Mathew Bogosian, Patent 566, on December 7, 2021, according to the court documents. Vertiaseum did not specify how long Coinbase had allegedly been violating Patent 566.

As its preferred method of resolving the conflict, Veritaseum Capital also requested a jury trial in the Delaware-based court.