Bancor Sues Uniswap Over Key DEX Patent Claims

Bancor’s developers have launched a legal battle against Uniswap Labs and the Uniswap Foundation.
The lawsuit accuses them of using Bancor’s patented decentralized exchange technology without permission.
The Bprotocol Foundation and LocalCoin Ltd.—the nonprofit and original developer behind Bancor—filed the case in the U.S. DistriBancor’s developers have launched a legal battle against Uniswap Labs and the Uniswap Foundation. ct Court for the Southern District of New York.
At the center of the dispute is the constant product automated market maker (CPAMM) model. Bancor says it invented this system in 2016 and received U.S. patents in 2017. The model enables permissionless crypto trading via smart contracts—a cornerstone of DeFi.
The lawsuit accuses them of using Bancor’s patented decentralized exchange technology without permission.
Bancor Says Uniswap Benefited From Its Invention
Bancor’s complaint argues that Uniswap’s protocol, launched in 2018, uses the same CPAMM structure. It claims Uniswap did so without licensing the underlying tech.
According to Bancor, Uniswap has “profited greatly” by deploying that design, despite never securing authorization.
If the court agrees, the case could reshape how intellectual property is treated in open-source blockchain protocols—and raise key questions about who owns DeFi innovation.
In a written statement to Coindoo, a spokesperson for Uniswap Labs refuted the allegations, stating:
“This lawsuit is meritless, and we will defend ourselves accordingly. The code for the Uniswap Protocol is public and has been for years. What a wasteful distraction at a time of historic momentum for DeFi.”