The novel Zcash Trademark and License Settlement was the primary of its sort. Electrical Coin Co. (ECC) and Zcash Basis (ZF) created it, amongst different causes, to make sure that any Zcash community improve represented “the Clear Consensus of the Zcash group,” which might be decided by “proof agreed to by each events.” The language wasn’t particular about what this “proof” can be.
Whereas well-intentioned, Zcash has outgrown the necessity for such a settlement, and Zcash protocol governance ought to prolong past the attain of the 2 events. We moreover contend that as initiatives like Zcash face elevated regulatory scrutiny, it’s essential to take motion now. It’s time to additional decentralize Zcash.
For these causes and others, ECC intends to terminate the trademark settlement, pending a profitable negotiation with ZF to make sure a clean transition. The settlement’s authors envisioned that this time would doubtless come and included varied mechanisms for dissolution. We’re trying ahead to a productive dialogue that advantages your entire ecosystem.
Whereas ECC will go away the settlement, we is not going to go away the Zcash group. We’re dedicated to persevering with our work to offer a world-class UX for Zcash, and we preserve a powerful curiosity within the continued well-being of the Zcash group and the broader ecosystem.
Background
When ECC donated the Zcash trademark to ZF in 2019, the settlement created a 2-of-2 consensus mannequin requiring each events’ settlement on utilization.
ECC initially supposed to donate the trademark to the ZF with out restriction. Nonetheless, after some competition, ECC proposed the unprecedented settlement to make sure ZF didn’t have unilateral decision-making authority on the usage of the mark. It was a donation with strings connected. Since then, the group has grown and matured, with many extra third events lively in analysis, engineering, group growth, and adoption efforts. We don’t want it anymore.
Why we need to terminate the trademark settlement
The Zcash trademark settlement successfully consolidates governance energy in two sovereign organizations. A darker view is that Zcash’s governance rests within the fingers of two folks and their respective boards of administrators. We imagine each organizations’ leaders are good actors in the present day, however we must always not assume this may all the time be true.
Even the notion of centralized energy places Zcash in danger with regulators. As many know, your entire crypto ecosystem is below intense scrutiny from authorities and regulation enforcement companies within the US and overseas. Authorized battles are ubiquitous, initiatives have been shut down for doubtful contraventions, and builders have been arrested and jailed. We felt the very actual impacts at ECC when the SEC subpoenaed us (ZF, too) final yr.
The trademark settlement binds ECC and ZF to help and perform the voice of the group, stating, “Every social gathering covenants and agrees that it’ll not make or withhold any approval, consents, or different choice below this Settlement if such approval, consent, or different choice is opposite to the Clear Consensus of the Zcash group.” Nonetheless, there is no such thing as a commonplace method to accumulate or interpret group consensus, and no group or committee represents the geographic and perspective variety of Zcashers worldwide. The “Clear Consensus” clause was conceived with good intent however doesn’t perform as a respectable test on energy. It’s flawed, and new governance is overdue.
How does strolling away make Zcash higher?
If Zcash is to be a shared public good, it should frequently add new members who signify varied views on what Zcash is and will turn out to be. Better participation fuels vibrancy and resilience, and larger participation fuels even larger participation.
A brand new governance mannequin that features many different groups and stakeholders in disparate components of the world will assist Zcash develop and evolve to serve very actual wants. It’ll unearth recent views, create a greater protocol, and provides rise to a brand new vitality.
We don’t know what this new mannequin seems to be like but, and it’s not ECC’s job to say, however we’re sure the Zcash group is artistic and motivated. There are already a number of compelling concepts and items of concepts floating round on the discussion board and different social platforms.
Whereas empowering further voices might appear to be it could complicate decision-making on the floor, we imagine it raises the bar for social consensus as an open-source undertaking and thru Zcash’s ZIP course of.
Implications and dangers
If ECC unilaterally terminates the settlement with none concessions by ZF, it would give ZF sole possession of the Zcash trademark and the facility to license it. As such, we intend to collaborate with ZF and contribute concepts on future trademark administration, together with enforcement and governance of the blockchain bearing the Zcash title, as acceptable.
We’ll ask ZF for 3 issues:
They may decide to utilizing the trademark solely to guard in opposition to its misuse by scammers or clear abusers of the mark. Within the curiosity of clear decentralization, they won’t use it to try to control the course of the protocol.
They may think about relinquishing the trademark to free the group of restrictions. This will even permit ZF to reallocate help and enforcement funding to different constructive enhancements for Zcash. When ECC owned and managed the trademark, we spent vital effort and cash attempting to guard it, and a lot of the fraud and non-compliance was going down in international locations like China, the place the trademark wasn’t protected anyway. It was whack-a-mole. Different decentralized protocols, corresponding to Bitcoin, haven’t any group that protects the mark. It’s protected by way of social consensus.
If ZF retains possession of the mark, termination of the trademark settlement will revoke all ECC trademark rights. We’ll request an ongoing restricted license to proceed offering group providers, corresponding to sustaining the z.money web site and managing the Zcash X account, until or till one other proprietor or answer is discovered.
We look ahead to listening to from the group about any further dangers or considerations and dealing with ZF to make sure Zcash continues to evolve its governance and capabilities in a means that’s extremely inclusive, protecting, and nourishing for the expansion of the protocol and ecosystem.
