Questions around whether XRP can be copied often focus on open-source code and blockchain forks, but a recent explanation shared by an XRP community member points attention to something deeper.
XRP Is Legally Protected By PatentsThe focus is on the full settlement process that removes the need for pre-funded accounts and reduces cost and time. The patented flow describes how liquidity is sourced, exchanged, and settled using XRP. With this patent, it means that no cryptocurrency can perform this function without XRP.
The second patent, U.S. Patent No. 11,998,003, builds on Ripple’s earlier designs and is designed to cover advanced interoperability between different ledgers and payment networks. This protection applies to how disparate systems are linked together into a single payment flow that can operate across jurisdictions and infrastructures.
According to Wilberforce’s explanation, this is where replication becomes impossible in practice. Even if another project designs a fast blockchain, it cannot copy Ripple’s exact architecture for connecting banks, payment providers, and blockchains with XRP embedded as the settlement medium. That architecture is legally protected.
Why Copying The Code Is Not The Same As Copying XRPAt a surface level, parts of the XRP Ledger are open source, which means developers can study the code and even fork it to create similar-looking networks. This has led to assumptions that XRP itself can be easily replicated.
