Malikie Innovations, which acquired 32,000 patents from BlackBerry in 2023, has filed lawsuits against Bitcoin mining firms Marathon Digital and Core Scientific in 2025. The lawsuits, initiated in the US, allege that these companies are infringing on patents related to Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) used in Bitcoin's blockchain. Malikie asserts ownership of the ECC technology.
The lawsuits focus on the use of ECC-based cryptographic methods in the defendants' Bitcoin mining operations. According to Aaron Brogan, founder of Brogan Law, a victory for Malikie could lead to further lawsuits against other miners in the United States. This could potentially undermine the security of the Bitcoin network.
However, Niko Demchuk, head of legal at AMLBot, suggests Malikie's claim may be weak if the patents are expired or predate Bitcoin's ECC implementation. The outcome hinges on the specific patents and the court's interpretation. The lawsuits were filed earlier this year against two miners—Mara (NASDAQ: MARA) and Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ)— by an entity called Malikie. Both are accused of violating multiple patents owned by Malikie, which apply to Bitcoin's ECC. Malikie seeks damages and royalties.
Malikie is seeking damages and royalties after accusing miners Marathon Digital and Core Scientific of violating multiple patents it owns. The defendants are accused of infringing this patent by 'making, using, testing, selling, offering for sale, and/or importing hardware and/or software including devices and software that comply with the Bitcoin protocol….such as bitcoin mining equipment…and wallets.'
It's alleged that BTC software and its use violate the ECC patents, but BTC considers itself a decentralized enterprise. This leaves would-be plaintiffs with axes to grind in a difficult position: should they pursue individual developers? Should they pursue those distributing BTC software? Or, as ended up happening, should they sue the miners who are, in practice, facilitating the operation of the entire ecosystem?