ChainCatcher 消息，据 Marketwatch 报道，最新美国证券交易委员会披露文件显示，巴菲特旗下的伯克希尔-哈撒韦公司在截至 12 月 24 日的三个交易日里，加码 2855 万美元购入了 143424 股互联网基础设施服务公司 VeriSign（威瑞信）的股票。加上先前已陆续买进的股票，伯克希尔目前共持有 VeriSign 发行股票的 13.7%，价值近 27 亿美元。 报道称，巴菲特对 VeriSign 感兴趣的一个原因可能是其在标准普尔 500 指数成分股公司中，各项利润率指标排名都很高。 据悉，Verisign 此前已经获得了美国专利和商标局（USPTO）授予一项将区块链技术应用于域名的专利。 此外，Verisign 拥有“.com”和“.net”域名的控制权，该专利名为域名区块链用户地址，概述了与注册人在区块链网络中使用 DNS 域名相关的一些主要好处和技术优势。它可以支持在区块链环境中使用在传统 DNS 环境中购买的域名。 Verisign 解释称，通过应用这项技术，注册中心使用户能够将传统域名转换为“区块链用户地址”，并与网络上的其他参与者进行交互。

ChainCatcher news, according to Financial界, WeBank has applied for a patent related to blockchain node consensus, aiming to improve the consensus efficiency of blockchain systems. The patent is titled "Node Consensus Method, Device, Equipment and Medium in Blockchain System," with publication number CN 119172383 A, and the application date is September 2024.The patent abstract shows that each node locally stores the corresponding node transaction chain list, and the batch package in any node's transaction chain list is packaged after meeting preset requirements based on voting information. Thus, the consensus master node only needs to determine the last batch package that meets the requirements, significantly improving packaging efficiency without the need for consensus on each transaction, thereby optimizing the node consensus process.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by the Financial界, the National Intellectual Property Administration's information shows that Nokia Technologies Limited has applied for a patent titled "Device Method and Computer Program," with publication number CN 119155674 A, and the application date is June 2024.The patent abstract indicates that it provides a device, method, and computer program for use in user devices to perform the following: encrypt digital assets using a first key to form encrypted digital assets; provide the encrypted digital assets and an index for the encrypted digital assets to a first network function; and provide an identifier for the encrypted digital assets to a first entity.

ChainCatcher news, the cryptocurrency advocacy organization "Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance" (COPA) and the patent-focused organization "Unified Patents" have launched a campaign against "patent trolls" in the blockchain and cryptocurrency technology space.In a blog post on October 1, COPA stated that the partners initiated the "BlockchainZone" initiative aimed at combating patents controlled by non-practicing entities (NPEs), covering a range of technologies including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), wallets, and smart contracts.COPA indicated that the collaboration aims to protect blockchain companies and developers from the "unreasonable and exorbitant" legal claims of patent trolls (NPEs), who leverage the high costs of court litigation to negotiate settlements.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, automotive giant Ford and Toyota applied for a total of 43 blockchain-related patents in the second quarter of this year. Among them, Ford's patent applications increased from 3 in the first quarter to 14 in the second quarter, while Toyota's applications rose from 25 in the first quarter to 29 in the second quarter. The patents include introducing smart contracts into vehicle management, establishing blockchain systems for managing vehicle NFTs, and more.

ChainCatcher news, according to Coinpost, The Pokémon Company has obtained a patent related to distributed ledger and NFTs. It is reported that the patent application date was October 27, 2022, and the official approval registration date is June 25, 2024.According to the application content, the goal of the patent is to "preserve players' emotional connection to cards in digital TCGs (trading card games)." Through the NFT platform, users can freely trade and exchange cards used to build decks or collections, which will help increase trading volume and may also generate corresponding transaction fee revenue.In addition, the patent application also mentions that players can receive a certain "reward" based on the battle results in the game or by meeting specific conditions.

ChainCatcher news, the Japanese intellectual property platform J-PlatPat shows that the well-known anime and game IP "Pokémon" has completed a patent application regarding distributed ledger and NFTs by the company Pokémon.It is reported that Pokémon is the main company managing and operating the "Pokémon" IP, which was jointly established by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.

ChainCatcher news, the DeFi Education Fund (DEF) reached an agreement with True Return Systems (TRS) on Monday to purchase a patent for oracle-like technology. This controversial patent is at the center of two lawsuits against MakerDAO and Compound. DEF declined to disclose the settlement amount, citing that the negotiations are of a "confidential" nature.According to DEF, TRS sued MakerDAO and Compound in 2022 for using oracle-like technology, claiming to own "a method and system for separating the storage and processing of computerized ledgers to improve functionality." However, the advocacy organization and the lawyers for both protocols have disputed these allegations, stating that the scope of the patent litigation is overly broad.DEF stated that it plans to make the patent available to the public, meaning that each protocol will have the legal right to use the oracle-like technology mentioned in its intellectual property documents.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, based on the latest list published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Apple has obtained a communication patent that allows users nearby with Apple devices such as iPhone and AirPods to voice chat without relying on Wi-Fi or cellular networks.

ChainCatcher news, on July 5, 2024, the Wudang Branch of the Guiyang Public Security Bureau issued a "Notice of Termination of Patent Technology Services for Crimes Involving Virtual Currency," with the reason for project termination being that the supplier's commitment letter was not stamped with an official seal.The project content includes the "Dandelion Organization Leadership Pyramid Scheme," which involves analyzing criminal behavior and profiles related to nearly 10T+ data addresses and over 2.5 billion account relationships on public chains such as Ethereum and Tron. It requires secure blockchain data collection for Ethereum and Tron, splitting blockchain data fields, obtaining valid wallet addresses from massive amounts of addresses, locating the flow of funds, identifying fund retention, and determining transaction relationships. Additionally, it needs to have extensive data labeling analysis capabilities, overseas exchange address recognition capabilities, and services for verifying overseas exchanges. The project funding is 9.5 million RMB.

ChainCatcher news, Yuga Labs co-founder Garga.eth posted on social media: "Sharing some latest news: In order to better align with the spirit that initially led to our success and to enable builders and creators to access democratically, we have decided to donate these patents to the open-source community.Some of the patent applications were submitted under the previous leadership team at Yuga, and some have now been approved. The first of these patents will be announced later this week, and the donation should be completed soon."

ChainCatcher news, the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) tweeted that it has applied to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, questioning the validity of the patent obtained by Unstoppable Domains for the open-source technology developed by ENS Labs.ENS stated that Unstoppable Domains' patent application for ENS technology is an act of theft, and that it refuses to open-source the patent or make any irrevocable commitments.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Financial界, the National Intellectual Property Administration announced that Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. has applied for a patent named "Blockchain Transaction Packaging Method, Device, Equipment, Storage Medium and Program Product," with publication number CN117609361A, and the application date is October 2023.

ChainCatcher news, "Satoshi Nakamoto" Craig Wright has proposed a settlement to the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPC) and the parties involved in the upcoming intellectual property litigation.Craig Wright stated that the primary focus of the previous legal proceedings was not to reveal his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto, but to ensure that Bitcoin remains true to its core principles.It is reported that Craig Wright has agreed to waive his database rights and copyrights in BTC, BCH, and ABC, and that this settlement proposal aims to preserve the integrity of the Bitcoin system as it was initially developed, while limiting unnecessary costs of lengthy trials in the High Court for all parties involved. The effective time for the agreement is 7 days.

ChainCatcher news, Circle announces the acquisition of a patent for parallel block processing on the blockchain. The patent was developed by its Engineering Director Marcus Boorstin, allowing for the simultaneous processing of multiple pieces of information while still serially validating blocks.

ChainCatcher news, according to Blockworks, based on a recently published series of patent applications, the Layer2 and NFT sectors seem to be the focus of PayPal's R&D efforts.Since September 21, PayPal has published three patent applications:One of the patent applications proposes a so-called new "method and system" to facilitate off-chain transactions through the NFT market.Another application mentions the concept of a "metaverse," suggesting a product that handles multiple metaverses. PayPal states that it has developed an "online transaction processor" that can provide recommendations on which digital assets users should purchase based on their blockchain preferences and the metaverses they interact with most frequently.The third application describes another conceptual "online transaction processor." The goal of this processor is to facilitate payments between users and merchants operating on different network layers (L1 and L2) in a more efficient manner.

ChainCatcher news, the Qichacha APP shows that on June 9, the patent "Method for Generating Digital Humans, Training Method for Models, Devices, Equipment, and Media" applied by Beijing Baidu Netcom Technology Co., Ltd. was authorized. The patent abstract indicates that this disclosure relates to the field of artificial intelligence, specifically involving technologies such as natural language processing, deep learning, computer vision, image processing, augmented reality, and virtual reality, which can be applied in scenarios like the metaverse. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, South Korean tech giant LG is seeking patent protection for a television that allows users to trade NFTs.It is reported that the device will be able to connect to NFT marketplace servers, receive and display preview images, and complete purchases through a user cryptocurrency wallet connected to the TV. LG has launched an art lab marketplace integrated with the Hedera Network, which has been a node operator for the network since 2020. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, Sony Interactive Entertainment has applied for a patent related to NFTs, hoping that gamers will be able to use NFTs across different games and platforms, including those produced by competitors like Microsoft and Nintendo. Its goal is to make NFTs applicable to "virtual reality (VR) headsets, augmented reality (AR) headsets, smartphones, tablets, computers, and televisions." This way, digital assets can be used across multiple different computer simulations and/or multiple different computer simulation platforms via NFTs, and the ownership of the NFTs may subsequently be transferred to other users. (The Block)

ChainCatcher news, Sony has announced a patent titled "NFT Framework for Transferring and Using Digital Assets Across Gaming Platforms," which explores a method for cross-platform use and trading of NFTs. It is reported that the patent was filed in 2022 but was not published until Thursday. (source link)