DEF reaches settlement agreement with TRS to purchase its oracle-like technology patents

On Monday, the DeFi Education Fund (DEF) reached a settlement with True Return Systems (TRS) to purchase a patent for oracle-like technology. The controversial patent was at the center of two legal actions against MakerDAO and Compound. DEF said TRS had sued MakerDAO and Compound in 2022 for using oracle-like technology, claiming ownership of a "method and system for separating the storage and processing of a computer ledger to improve functionality." But the advocacy group and lawyers for the two protocols disputed the allegations, arguing that the patent lawsuit went too far. "Oracle technology is very important to the DeFi space, so... we saw a potential issue that could result in a violation of the rights of developers or users," DEF Chief Counsel Amanda Tuminelli said on Monday. DEF declined to disclose the settlement amount, citing the "confidential" nature of the negotiations. Court documents show that TRS's lawsuit sought to prohibit the protocols from "making, using, or selling" products based on oracle-like technology, but this never came to fruition. TRS filed to terminate the lawsuit against the protocols on Monday. The decision came shortly after the company agreed to sell its patents to DEF. Tuminelli said the patent purchase not only ensures that MakerDAO and Compound can continue to use similar oracle technology to support their on-chain price feeds, but also ensures that other protocols can use the technology for many other applications. (Decrypt)