The developer of the zkSync solution, Matter Labs, has withdrawn the application for registration of the zero-disclosure proof trademark (ZK).
Information about the filing was distributed by Cointelegraph on May 30, after which the firm faced criticism from representatives of the crypto community.
⚡️ JUST IN: @the_matter_labs’ attempt to trademark ‘ZK’ technology sparks outrage.
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) May 30, 2024StarkWare noted that ZK is "a public good that should belong to everyone."
ZK is a public good that should belong to everyone.
Matter Labs, the corporate entity behind @zksync, has filed trademark applications in nine countries, claiming ZK as its exclusive intellectual property, even though they neither created nor contributed to the creation of this…
"Matter Labs, the corporate entity behind zkSync, has filed trademark applications in nine countries, naming ZK as its intellectual property, although the company did not create or contribute to the creation of this technology. Using the legal system to take away the public good, the firm contradicts the ideals of cryptocurrency [...]," the post says.
Representatives of StarkWare called on the community to oppose the privatization of technology.
The company has attached a public statement signed by two of the three creators of ZK technology, Shafi Goldwasser and Silvio Mikali, CEO of StarkWare Eli Ben-Sasson, as well as Polygon co-founder Sandeep Naival.
"If [Matter Labs] does this, it will separate itself from the very community of which it considers itself a part," the letter says.
Initially, the company's representatives stated that they had applied for ZK-related trademarks in order to guarantee "the free use of ZK in the context of ZK Sync, ZK Stack and other names."
ZK technology belongs to the community. Full stop.
We applied for ZK-related trademarks to ensure that the term “ZK” can be used freely in the context of “ZK Sync”, “ZK Stack” and other related names. Like it or not, trademarks are the only legal tool available for this today.…
According to them, trademark registration does not mean a ban on the use of the term ZK:
"All trademarks that we have ever registered, including those related to ZK, are defensive in nature to prevent dishonest entities from misleading their customers."
However, on June 2, Matter Labs announced the withdrawal of the application after "discussing ideas with the community." The founder and CEO of the company, Alex Glukhovsky, called this decision "difficult."
This was not an easy decision. It increases legal risks, but the very purpose of ZK is to help humanity change its mode of cooperation from “don’t be evil” to “can’t be evil”. I feel that this is the right thing to do. https://t.co/OApjMCraPc
— Alex G. (∎, ∆) (@gluk64) June 2, 2024"This increases the legal risks, but the very purpose of ZK is to help humanity change the way it cooperates from the principle of "don't be evil" to "you can't be evil." I feel that this is the right thing to do," he warned.
Earlier, the Polygon Zero team accused Matter Labs of stealing the project's code. According to the statement, in a recent update of the latter called Boojum, completely copied parts of the SNARK Plonky2 protocol were found.
Recall that in May, the Ethereum Name Service sent an official petition to revoke the Unstoppable Domains patent issued by the US authorities in January 2023.