Patent Pledge

nChain hereby pledges not to assert its Pledged Patent(s) against you for making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing or distributing any implementation to the extent it conforms to a Technical Standard Committee (TSC) Standard Specification, subject to the following terms. This is a personal pledge directly from nChain to you.

If you implement a TSC Standard Specification, this pledge only extends to implementations for use on the Bitcoin SV blockchains. The Bitcoin SV blockchains are defined, for purposes of this license, as the Bitcoin blockchain containing block height #556767 with the hash “000000000000000001d956714215d96ffc00e0afda4cd0a96c96f8d802b1662b” and that contains the longest persistent chain of blocks accepted by the Bitcoin SV Node Software (or a relevant component part thereof) and which are valid under the rules set forth in the Bitcoin white paper (S. Nakamoto, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, posted online October 2008), wherein the latest version of the Bitcoin SV Node software is made available by a repository designated by Bitcoin Association, as well as the corresponding test blockchain(s).

If you file, maintain or voluntarily participate in a patent infringement lawsuit against an implementation of a TSC Standard Specification, then this pledge does not apply with respect to any implementation of the same TSC Standard Specification made or used by you.

If you implement a TSC Standard Specification, you irrevocably agree not to assert any of your patents against implementations of the same TSC Standard Specification in respect of the making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing or distributing of any implementation to the extent that it conforms to the TSC Standard Specification.

To benefit from this pledge in respect of a given TSC Standard Specification, you must make the same pledge in respect of any of your patents that also read onto that TSC Standard Specification. Failure by you to provide an equivalent pledge in respect of your patents that read onto the TSC Standard Specification in question shall entitle nChain to withdraw the benefit of the pledge provided by nChain to you in respect of the corresponding Pledged Patents. Any such withdrawal shall have the effect that this pledge was never provided to you in the first instance.

nChain will require any person or entity to whom it sells or transfers any of the specified Pledged Patents to agree, in writing, to abide by this pledge and to place a similar requirement on any subsequent transferees to do the same.

To clarify, “Pledged Patents” are the specific patent applications and any subsequent issued patents listed in the table below. nChain may by providing written notice on this webpage, amend this list of patents from time to time, at its discretion. References to nChain will be understood to include nChain Licensing AG. Only the Pledged Patents listed below are subject to this pledge and it does not extend to any other patents which may be referenced within the Pledged Patents listed below.

“TSC Standard Specifications” are the specifications listed in the table below any updated versions thereof.

This pledge is not an assurance either (i) that any of the nChain issued patent claims cover the corresponding TSC Standard Specifications or are enforceable (ii) that an implementation of the TSC Standard Specification would not infringe patents or other intellectual property rights of any third party or (iii) that nChain will add any patents to the list of Pledged Patents below. No other rights except those expressly stated in this pledge shall be deemed granted, waived or received by implication, exhaustion, estoppel, or otherwise. nChain makes no representations or warranties with respect to the Pledged Patents. This pledge is not an indication of the value of an arms-length, negotiated license or a reasonable royalty.