Tokenization firm tZERO pushed back after its rival Securitize sued it in Delaware federal court, saying tokenization companies can't seek institutional capital while treating intellectual property protection as unsporting.
The latest exchange follows Securitize's June 22 complaint seeking a declaratory judgment that it doesn't infringe tZERO's tokenization patents.
Securitize said tZERO's allegations were "without merit" and "run counter to the spirit of fair play that defines our industry at its best."
tZERO fired back, arguing in a June 23 post on X that the "spirit of fair play" line made it sound as if intellectual property rights shouldn't apply to tokenization.
tZERO
The company added that institutional investors don't operate in "legal vacuums" and argued that tokenization firms seeking legitimacy must also respect patents.
Patent fight moves into court
The dispute began after tZERO publicly sent Securitize a cease-and-desist and reservation-of-rights letter over tools tied to tokenized securities infrastructure, including systems for investor rules, transfer controls and tokenholder records.
- Securitize then filed first, asking the Delaware court to rule that it doesn't infringe, making the case defensive, rather than a lawsuit claiming tZERO infringed Securitize's patents.
- The claims haven't been tested in court, and tZERO's latest post signals that it plans to enforce its patents but doesn't announce a countersuit, counterclaim or new patent claims against Securitize.