Digital Shovel Sues Key RK Work for Copyright Infringement on Bitcoin Mining Containers
Digital Shovel Holdings Inc. filed a lawsuit against RK Mission Critical LLC, RK Mechanical LLC, and RK Industries LLC in the US District Court for the District of Colorado, accusing them of copyright infringement, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. The controversy revolves around Digital Shovel’s V-Shape technology, which is designed to increase the density of miners in crypto mining bowls.
Digital Shovel developed V-Shape technology in 2018, receiving patents in 2022, 2023, and 2024. These patents enable a 30% increase in miner density, providing significant operational benefits. According to the complaint, Compute North, a client of RK Mission Critical, initially sought to license this technology to Digital Shovel in 2019 but was denied. Apart from this, RK Mission Critical is alleged to have produced containers almost identical to the Digital Shovel, and some workers initially made mistakes with their products.
“Instead of competing fairly, the defendants are using the new technology that Digital Shovel has worked so hard to develop and protect through patents,” the complaint states.
Digital Shovel’s CEO, Scot Johnson, said that with RK Mission Critical marketing, they believe they have sold approximately 850 units that sold for over $200,000 per unit, resulting in $170 million worth of product sales.
Various publicly traded mining companies use RK’s product,” said Johnson. “However, our focus is not on them or any other user at this time. It is on the use of our intellectual property by a company that builds products using our technology and steals customers from us.”
Despite being aware of pending patents as of 2021, Digital Shovel claims that RK Mission Critical has continued to manufacture without authorization, and their refusal to engage in settlement negotiations has led Digital Shovel to seek legal redress. The company intends to obtain compensation and an injunction to prevent further sales of the infringing containers.
Bitcoin Magazine will be interviewing Johnson in the future spaces in X later today at 1:15PM EST, where those interested in learning more about this case are encouraged to attend.
