Malikie Innovations Ltd. and Key Patent Innovations Ltd. filed two patent infringement suits in the Western District of Texas, Midland Division, on September 9, 2026. One names Antpool Technologies Limited and Antpool Technologies Pte. Ltd. The other names ViaBTC Technology Limited.
The two dockets
Malikie Innovations Ltd. v. Antpool Technologies Limited, No. 7:26-cv-00371, targets the Antpool mining-pool operators and their websites and apps. Malikie Innovations Ltd. v. ViaBTC Technology Limited, No. 7:26-cv-00372, targets ViaBTC's pool business.
What patents are in play
The Antpool complaint asserts U.S. Patents 8,788,827, 8,532,286, 8,712,039, and 8,694,769. The ViaBTC complaint asserts those four plus U.S. Patent 8,806,197. Malikie describes the portfolio as Certicom and BlackBerry cryptography that Bitcoin adopted for digital signatures and related processing. The complaints say the '827 patent (and, in ViaBTC, the '197 patent) expired on January 18, 2026, and that the '769 patent expired on February 3, 2026. They allege the '286 and '039 patents remain in force.
What it means in plain terms
These are pool-operator suits, not miner-hardware suits alone. Malikie is telling two of the world's largest bitcoin mining pools that running pool software, verifying signatures, hashing, and handling pool proceeds uses the asserted crypto patents. Some asserted patents have already expired, so part of the case is about past damages rather than an ongoing injunction on those claims. Nothing on the free docket yet decides liability.
What to watch next
Watch for answers, venue or personal-jurisdiction motions, and whether Malikie ties the claim charts to specific pool software releases. Also watch whether these Midland cases travel with Malikie's earlier miner suits, such as the MARA and Foundry matters on related Certicom and BlackBerry patents.