ZPRIZE

If @zama and @randhindi believe in their work, we invite them to compete with @sunscreentech in a way that moves the industry forward rather than engage in secret campaigns of intimidation, IP trolling, and speech suppression. Thread 🧵👇 On December 3, following a 6+ month long sustained campaign of harassment against @sunscreentech and our investors, we received formal notice from @zama’s legal counsel containing frivolous accusations of disparagement and patent infringement in France. @zama is attempting to censor free speech and scientific discussion. @zama has alleged technical comparisons between our own TFHE library and their library during our zkSummit12 talk amount to “disparagement” and demand “financial compensation.” This is absurd and offensive. Sunscreen stands for the principles of open source and free speech and we're proud to have built the most performant FHE compiler to date. Citing European patent EP4150852, Zama also asserts the sole right to use a technique commonly referred to as programmable bootstrapping. We’re disappointed that IP trolling has become a consideration in our industry and @zama’s attempt to register a similar patent in the United States was properly rejected by the patent office [patentcenter.uspto.gov/appli…]. Apparently, @zama's claimed invention is an "abstract idea without significantly more." @zama has indicated they will initiate proceedings in French court come December 20 if we don’t comply with their long list of demands. The letter from @zama's legal counsel along with their demands can be viewed here: drive.google.com/file/d/1GJ-… Our technical presentation at @zeroknowledgefm that @zama alleges is “disparagement” that caused them “commercial and moral damage” can be watched here: youtube.com/watch?v=2s252VRn…. Our allegedly “litigious” TFHE library is available here: github.com/Sunscreen-tech/Su… Our evidence if you wish to see for yourself: docs.google.com/document/d/1… We will vigorously defend ourselves against attempts to enforce illegitimate IP claims over cryptographic techniques in the public domain. We will loudly reject attempts to censor legitimate technical discussion and block scientific advancement. And we will fight for these principles and the future of FHE.