Uniswap has won a major legal battle in the United States, defeating a patent infringement lawsuit brought by organizations linked to Bancor. The decision is being seen as an important moment not just for Uniswap, but for the entire decentralized finance, or DeFi, space.
On February 11, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams shared on X that his legal team had informed him the court ruled in Uniswap’s favor. The case centered on the core technology that powers automated token trading on the platform.
At the heart of the dispute was a simple but powerful formula known as the constant product market maker model, often written as x multiplied by y equals k. This formula is used to price tokens in liquidity pools and has become a building block for many decentralized exchanges.
The lawsuit was originally filed in May 2025 in a federal court in New York. The plaintiffs, Bprotocol Foundation and LocalCoin Ltd., both connected to Bancor, argued that Uniswap had been using a method covered by a patent granted in 2017. According to their claim, Uniswap had relied on this patented model since its launch in 2018 without permission and owed financial damages.
Uniswap pushed back strongly from the beginning. The company argued that its code was open-source and publicly available. It also said that the patent was trying to claim ownership over a basic mathematical principle applied to blockchain technology, something it believed should not be restricted.
The case attracted wide attention across the crypto industry. Many saw it as bigger than just one company versus another. It raised an important question: can simple trading formulas used in DeFi really be locked up by patents?
Several industry groups publicly supported Uniswap. Organizations like the DeFi Education Fund and the Solana Institute filed statements backing the exchange. They warned that allowing patents to control basic DeFi tools could slow innovation and hurt open development.
According to people familiar with the ruling, the court found that the claims did not meet the legal standard required to prove patent infringement. The open nature of Uniswap’s software and the broad use of the formula across the industry were key factors.
Legal experts say the outcome sends a clear signal. When core financial mechanisms are built on simple formulas and openly shared code, it can be very difficult to enforce patent rights over them.
For many developers, this feels like a win for open-source finance. It reinforces the idea that the basic building blocks of DeFi should remain accessible and not be locked behind legal barriers.
The uncertainty around the lawsuit had created concern in the ecosystem. A different outcome could have slowed development, delayed partnerships, or even forced changes to how decentralized exchanges operate. With the ruling now in Uniswap’s favor, that cloud has lifted for the moment.
As of now, there has been no announcement of an appeal. For the time being, the case appears to be settled at the district court level, marking a significant victory for Uniswap and for the broader DeFi community.
