Bitcoin mining companies Marathon Digital and Core Scientific sued over crypto patents

According to a report by Cointelegraph, Malikie Innovations has recently filed a lawsuit against Bitcoin mining companies Marathon Digital and Core Scientific, accusing them of infringing on its patent rights by using elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). The company acquired 32,000 "non-core" patents from BlackBerry in 2023. The lawsuit claims that the defendant mining companies used Malikie's patented technology in their Bitcoin mining operations. Legal expert Aaron Brogan stated that such lawsuits typically do not target individual Bitcoin users but could have significant financial implications for the defendant mining companies, potentially facing six years of royalty recovery if they lose. AMLBot's Head of Legal, Niko Demchuk, believes that if the patents in question have expired or only cover technology prior to Bitcoin's ECC implementation, Malikie's claims may be difficult to substantiate. The outcome of the case will depend on the specific patent scope and court interpretation.