Announcements
November 19, 2025·Last updated on November 19, 2025
San Francisco, CA – November 19, 2025 – A year ago, Unstoppable Domains won a decisive legal victory when the United States Patent and Trademark Office denied the petition filed by ENS Labs Ltd. and which sought to invalidate U.S. Patent No. 11,558,344, entitled “Resolving Blockchain Domains.” The decision upheld the validity and force of the patent, putting an end to the case.
Since that ruling, Unstoppable Domains has remained true to its open innovation commitments and has not tried to impose its patents on anyone. This ongoing approach reflects the company’s mission to use intellectual property responsibly by protecting innovation while encouraging collaboration and progress within the Web3 domain ecosystem.
In its official ruling dated November 22, 2024, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board concluded that ENS Labs had failed to demonstrate that it was reasonably likely to prevail in its objections. The decision not only validates Unstoppable’s innovation, but also strengthens its approach to intellectual property stewardship.
“We are proud that the USPTO has affirmed the integrity of our intellectual property,” said Matt Gould, founder and CEO of Unstoppable Domains. “This win underlines the originality of our technology and our continued commitment to responsibly advancing the onchain naming ecosystem.”
U.S. Patent No. 11,558,344, issued January 17, 2023, covers the method and system for resolving blockchain-based domain names using smart contracts. The technology powers Unstoppable Domains’ groundbreaking .crypto registry, allowing users to associate human-readable onchain names with blockchain addresses and content without relying on centralized intermediaries.
Key innovations include gasless transactions, smart contract-based resolution, and decentralized domain management. These features have been at the core of Unstoppable’s technology since its first deployments in 2020.
ENS Labs has filed a petition against all twenty claims of the patent. After reviewing the submissions and evidence, the USPTO determined that ENS did not meet the required threshold under U.S. patent law to proceed. The board determined that ENS had not proven that the referenced materials qualified as prior art or that they invalidated Unstoppable’s patented technology.
The decision effectively closes the case and confirms that Unstoppable’s patent remains valid and enforceable.
Unstoppable Domains uses patents defensively to protect innovation and maintain fairness in the rapidly evolving Onchain naming industry. The company’s intellectual property strategy ensures the freedom to operate while supporting open standards and interoperability between naming systems, including .eth.
“Protecting our intellectual property is the only responsible way to ensure the Web3 industry can continue to innovate for our community and partners,” said Sandy Carter, Chief Business Officer for Unstoppable Domains. “We will continue to build an open, interoperable infrastructure that empowers developers, users and partners around the world.”
This ruling was an important milestone for the Web3 and blockchain industry. It confirmed that blockchain-based naming and domain resolution systems can be protected under US patent law and establishes Unstoppable Domains’ leadership in the development of decentralized identity and Web3 infrastructure technologies.
Unstoppable domains: press@unstoppabledomains.com
Launched in 2018, Unstoppable Domains is an ICANN-accredited registrar and leading digital identity platform dedicated to onboarding the world to DNS and Web3. Unstoppable Domains offers Web3 domains minted on the blockchain, giving individuals full ownership and control of their digital identity, with no renewal fees. Users can replace long alphanumeric crypto wallet addresses with easy-to-remember, human-readable domain names, streamlining their interactions with apps, wallets, exchanges and marketplaces. Recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Startup Employers for four consecutive years (2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025), Unstoppable Domains has been growing rapidly, with more than 4.6 million domains registered.
For more information, visit: https://unstoppabledomains.com/