- Bancor sues Uniswap for infringing AMM patents in U.S. court.
- Uniswap’s UNI token dropped post-announcement.
- The case may set a precedent for DeFi patent disputes.
On May 20, 2025, the Bprotocol Foundation and LocalCoin filed a lawsuit against Uniswap Labs and Uniswap Foundation in a New York court, claiming patent infringement of Bancor’s AMM technology. It suggests that this lawsuit could redefine patent norms in DeFi, affecting open innovation assumptions.
Bancor’s Legal Move Challenges Uniswap’s AMM Usage
The Bprotocol Foundation and LocalCoin claim Uniswap Labs and the Uniswap Foundation infringed their patented CPAMM technology since Uniswap’s 2018 launch. This lawsuit follows Bancor’s 2016 creation and 2017 patenting of CPAMM.
UNI Token Drops Amid Legal Uncertainty
Uniswap’s continued use of Bancor’s patented technology aims at competing without authorization. The lawsuit targets addressing this perceived infringement in DeFi. Bancor seeks to protect its innovations, highlighting a broader trend towards securing intellectual property rights in the sector. Bancor Official Spokesperson, Bprotocol Foundation, stated, “When an organization continuously uses our invention without our authorization and does so as a means of competing with us, we must take action”.
The announcement affected the market, hitting the UNI token with a price drop. Uniswap has not yet commented publicly on the lawsuit, keeping the focus on Bancor’s allegations and claims.
The Coincu research team suggests potential outcomes from this lawsuit may reshape how licensing affects patents in DeFi, balancing open-source principles and intellectual property rights. Legal clarifications could inspire further innovation while mitigating risks of similar litigation in the space.
Market Data
Did you know? The AMM model, pivotal to Bancor’s lawsuit, catalyzed the DeFi boom by enabling decentralized exchanges’ spontaneous liquidity creation, a key innovation in blockchain history.
CoinMarketCap data reveals Uniswap’s current price is $5.76, with a market cap of $3.62 billion and a 24-hour trading volume at approximately $260.46 million. The UNI token fell by 3.10% in 24 hours, illustrating market volatility amid litigation developments.
The lawsuit’s implications could lead to significant changes in how DeFi projects approach patenting and licensing, fostering a more secure environment for innovation.
Source: https://coincu.com/338756-bancor-sues-uniswap-amm-patent/