Matter Labs, the pioneering team behind the Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution zkSync, has officially withdrawn all trademark applications for the term “ZK”, a shorthand for zero-knowledge proofs. The decision arrived shortly after a public outcry led by eminent ZK researchers and developers.
On May 30, a group of influential figures in the zero-knowledge community, including Shafi Goldwasser, Silvio Micali, Eli Ben-Sasson, and Sandeep Nailwal, published a letter condemning Matter Labs’ attempts to trademark “ZK”. They argued that zero-knowledge proofs should remain a public good and criticized the firm for trying to claim proprietary rights over a universally beneficial technology.
Responding to the backlash, Matter Labs announced on June 2 via a social media post that it would retract all its trademark filings related to “ZK”. The company acknowledged the difficulty in reaching a consensus on intellectual property issues that are viewed neutrally by the broader community. Reflecting a sentiment of unity and open access, the post cited,
“These discussions came down to one important fact: it would be impossible to agree on a group of people perceived as credibly neutral by nearly everyone. What could have worked for Ethereum would not necessarily work for the entire world.”
Initially, Matter Labs defended its trademark applications as preventive measures aimed at protecting the names “ZK Sync”, “ZK Stack”, and others associated with their projects, stating that trademarks do not grant ownership over the words themselves but rather protect against potential misuse in specific contexts.
Velocore Hack Leads to $10M Loss, Halts Linea Blockchain for an HourAlex Gluchowski, CEO of Matter Labs, further clarified their stance by emphasizing his rejection of the traditional concept of intellectual property. He wrote on X,
“Matter Labs is a zealous proponent of the libertarian, cypherpunk ethos and the values stated in the ZK Credo. We reject the very idea of “Intellectual Property”. Everything we create is released to the public under free open source licenses.”
Gluchowski explained that their registered trademarks, including those related to ZK, were solely defensive to avoid confusion and misuse by others misrepresenting their association with Matter Labs.
