zkSync developers face a trademark battle over "ZK," resulting in a joint boycott by multiple crypto leaders

Author: Nancy, PANews

As the narrative powerhouse of the L2 track, the ZK track is facing a trademark battle. Recently, zkSync developer Matter Labs sparked protests from several projects after submitting a "ZK trademark application," with projects like Polyhedra Network, Polygon, and StarkWare joining forces to resist.

Polyhedra Accuses zkSync of Snatching ZK Project Code, Multiple Projects Unite in Resistance

The issue dates back to May 24, when zkSync's token was launched on the Bybit exchange under the name "ZK," which subsequently displeased Polyhedra Network, another ZK project whose token code is also "ZK." Polyhedra Network stated in a tweet that, despite the ETH ETF being approved in 2024, some projects are "snatching" project codes that rightfully belong to others for their own benefit. The essence of Web3 is not to become a breeding ground for bullying, and the project called on the community to defend fairness and justice, even directly naming zkSync.

Days later, Polyhedra tweeted again, stating, "zkSync has never contacted us, and zkSync is constantly spreading rumors between different entities. If every project issuing tokens faces the threat of having its project code taken by projects with substantial funding, the entire industry will become chaotic and lead to significant regulatory issues." Subsequently, Polyhedra changed its token code to ZKJ during its listing on HashKey Global, symbolizing "ZK Join"—a united and open ZK community. Currently, Polyhedra's listing code across various trading platforms is ZKJ, in response to the week-long trademark dispute.

Meanwhile, Matter Labs' submission of the "ZK" trademark application in nine countries has also sparked widespread dissatisfaction in the crypto industry. In response, Polyhedra, Polygon, and StarkWare jointly released an open letter, signed by industry leaders including Polyhedra co-founder and zkBridge inventor Tiancheng Xie, Polygon co-founders Sandeep Nailwal and Brendan Farmer, StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson, zero-knowledge proof co-inventor and Algorand founder Silvio Micali, Turing Award winner and ZK-proofs co-inventor Shafi Goldwasser, and Kakarot zkeVM co-founder Elias Tazartes. The letter calls for Matter Labs to withdraw its trademark application, labeling it as "oppressive behavior."

Among them, Polygon tweeted that, in line with the true spirit of Ethereum, Polygon Labs has always released open-source code for the benefit of all, and this commitment has had a positive impact on the entire cryptocurrency field. Polygon Plonky2 has been widely adopted, with one beneficiary being Matter Labs, which also utilizes Polygon Plonky2 for its core ZK technology. Despite relying on others' ZK technology, Matter Labs seeks to register the "ZK" trademark to potentially restrict others from using that technology. If one company monopolizes ZK technology, will users really benefit? Would zkSync exist without the ZK technology developed by Polygon Labs? No, its trademark registration of "ZK" would actually harm users through confusion. Openness is the foundation of Ethereum and must be preserved, especially regarding core mathematical principles.

"Matter Labs claims that ZK is its unique intellectual property, but they neither created it nor contributed to its development. By using the legal system to appropriate public resources, Matter Labs violates the spirit of cryptocurrency, Ethereum, and its own principles," StarkWare pointed out in a tweet, with Eli Ben-Sasson stating that Matter Labs' attempt to trademark ZK technology is an "absurd intellectual property land grab."

Matter Labs Responds: Opposes ZK as Intellectual Property, Registration is to Protect Users

On May 30, Matter Labs, the main party in this "trademark ownership battle," finally responded on social media, stating that ZK technology belongs to the community and must always be a public asset, freely accessible to everyone. Matter Labs applied for trademarks related to ZK to ensure that the term "ZK" can be freely used in contexts such as "ZK Sync" and "ZK Stack." Whether you like it or not, trademarks are currently the only available legal tool. A common misconception is that owning a trademark means you legally own a word or phrase and can prevent others from using it. However, you do not have general rights to that word or phrase; you only have the right to use it in connection with your specific goods or services. Matter Labs is committed to finding an appropriate structure for the ZK trademark to make it accessible to everyone building ZK technology. ZK technology and its terminology should always remain a public good, freely available for everyone to use.

At the same time, Matter Labs founder and CEO Alex also responded, stating that Matter Labs is a fervent supporter of the values described in libertarianism, cypherpunk spirit, and ZK creed, opposing the concept of "intellectual property." Everything they create is released to the public under a free open-source license. The existence of trademarks is to protect users, not the company. All trademarks previously registered by Matter Labs, including those related to ZK, are defensive, aimed at preventing dishonest actors from misleading customers and confusing their products and services with those offered by Matter Labs (unfortunately, this has indeed been the case in the past). Previously, Matter Labs had contacted the legal team of the Ethereum Foundation and proposed collaborating to create a legal framework to allow the use of "ZK" and similar important technical terms in the public domain. The team is now inviting others to participate in this initiative, especially those projects that have already applied for trademarks related to STARKs.

Before this, the zkSync ecosystem's exit scam project ZKasino was criticized by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin for not utilizing any ZK technology, and he expressed concerns about the increasing mainstream use of the term "ZK," believing that the word has been abused to the point that even scammers have started to exploit this popular term.

Interestingly, Ethereum L2 projects also joined the fray, with Taiko stating on X platform that discussions regarding token codes had taken place this week. Considering fairness for everyone and noting that another project had already used TKO as its code, they decided to change their token code to TAIKO to prevent conflicts and facilitate token listing.

The community has been divided over this trademark dispute. Some believe that Polyhedra's original token code was ZKB, which was later changed to ZK, suggesting an attempt to ride the coattails of popularity. From the timeline of X registrations, zkSync was registered in 2019, earlier than Polyhedra's 2023 registration. Others argue that ZK belongs to the public domain and is not specific to any project, and using this name reflects a lack of confidence in one's project and can be misleading to uninformed investors.

In today's world, where branding is increasingly important, creating a trademark "golden signboard" has become an effective means of establishing widespread recognition and is a crucial weapon in the market strategy competition of projects/enterprises. However, past cases have also shown that whether a golden signboard can shine depends more on the product itself.