Digital Shovel Holdings Inc. has filed a lawsuit against RK Mission Critical LLC, RK Mechanical LLC, and RK Industries LLC in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, accusing them of patent infringement, according to a press release sent to bitcoin Magazine. The dispute revolves around Digital Shovel’s V-Shape technology, which is designed to increase miner density in cryptocurrency mining containers.
Digital Shovel developed the V-Shape technology in 2018 and was granted patents in 2022, 2023, and 2024. These patents allow for a 30% increase in miner density, providing significant operational advantages. According to the complaint, Compute North, a customer of RK Mission Critical, initially attempted to license this technology from Digital Shovel in 2019 but was denied. Despite this, RK Mission Critical allegedly produced containers that were strikingly similar to Digital Shovel’s, and some staff members initially mistook them for their own products.
“Rather than competing fairly, defendants are exploiting the innovative technologies that Digital Shovel has worked hard to develop and protect through patents,” the complaint states.
Digital Shovel CEO Scot Johnson said that based on RK Mission Critical's marketing, they believe they have sold approximately 850 units that sold for over $200,000 each, resulting in product sales of $170 million.
“A number of publicly traded mining companies are using RK's product,” Johnson said. “However, our target is not them or any other end user at this point. It's about enforcing our intellectual property on the company that is building products using our technology and stealing our customers.”
Despite being aware of the pending patents since 2021, Digital Shovel claims that RK Mission Critical continued production without authorization, and its refusal to enter into settlement negotiations has led Digital Shovel to seek legal redress. The company is seeking compensation and an injunction to prevent further sales of the infringing containers.
bitcoin Magazine will interview Johnson in an upcoming interview. twitter.com/i/spaces/1zqKVqjXbylxB”>spaces in x later today at 1:15 p.m. EST, where those interested in learning more about this lawsuit are invited to attend.
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