Consensys-backed Linea urges Matter Labs to withdraw ZK trademark filing

Ethereum’s
layer-2
solution
Linea
is
calling
on
Matter
Labs
to
withdraw
“ZK”
trademark
attempts,
saying
the
filing
“goes
against
the
principles
of
Ethereum.”

Consensys-backed

zkEVM
layer-2
solution
Linea
is
urging
Matter
Labs,
the
firm
behind
another
layer-2
solution
dubbed
zkSync,
to
withdraw
its
trademark
filing
for
“ZK,”
which
the
firm
is
planning
to
use
as
a
ticker
for
its
upcoming
token.

In

an
X
post
on
May
31,
Linea
emphasized
that
using
legal
frameworks
to
assert
ownership
over
a
branch
of
cryptography
“goes
against
the
principles
of

Ethereum,”
urging
Matter
Labs
to
“uphold
their
mission
and
withdraw
their
trademark
attempts.”

zkTM

Matter
Labs,
the
entity
behind

@zkSync
has
just
filed
trademarks
for “ZK”
as
its
exclusive
intellectual
property.
Zero-Knowledge
(referred
to
broadly
as
zk
in
our
industry)
is
a
field
of
cryptography
that
has
been
innovated
by
researchers
around
the
world.

Many
of
these…

https://t.co/ThAeUIzGvW

—
Linea
(@LineaBuild)

May
31,
2024

Linea
emphasized
its
support
for
StarkWare,
which
is
also
calling
on
Matter
Labs
to
withdraw
its
trademark
application.
Thus
far,
the
zkSync
developer
has
faced
opposition
from
top
crypto
executives,
including
Polygon
co-founders
Sandeep
Nailwal
and
Brendan
Farmer,
StarkWare
CEO
Eli
Ben-Sasson,
and
Polyhedra
Network
co-founder
and
zkBridge
inventor
Tiancheng
Xie,
among
others.

Today,
we
seek
broader
community
support
to
call
for
Matters’
withdrawal
of
all
improperly-filed,
generic
trademark
applications.

Aligned
with
the
true
Ethereum
ethos,
Polygon
Labs
consistently
puts
out
open-source
code
that
benefits
everyone.
This
commitment
has
positively…

—
Polygon
|
Aggregated
(@0xPolygon)

May
30,
2024

The
controversy
began
when
Matter
Labs
filed
trademarks
for
“ZK,”
aiming
to
establish
exclusive
intellectual
property
rights,
despite
the
ticker
already
being
used
by
Polyhedra
Network
for
its
token.
Following
the
news,
Polyhedra
Network
changed
its
ticker
to
“ZKJ,”
criticizing
Matter
Labs’
move
as
“a
great
job
as
a
robber
and
a
thief,
not
a
blockchain
builder.”

We
trust
that
the
community
understands
the
true
meaning
of
fairness
and
justice.

Let’s
see
who
will
endorse
such
misconduct
and
who
will
stand
as
the
guardian
of
fairness
and
justice.

Great
job
as
a
robber
and
a
thief,
not
a
blockchain
builder.

@zksync

—
Polyhedra
Network
(@PolyhedraZK)

May
24,
2024

The
action
sparked
backlash
within
the
Ethereum
community,
with
critics
asserting
that
it
could
stifle
innovation
and
collaboration
in
the
rapidly
evolving
field
of
Zero-Knowledge
cryptography.

Addressing
the
critique,
Matter
Labs

stated
in
an
X
post
that
the
decision
to
apply
for
ZK-related
trademarks
was
made
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.”