Digital Shovel Holdings Inc. has 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 patent infringement, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. The dispute revolves around Digital Shovel’s V-Shape technology, designed to increase miner density in crypto mining containers.
Digital Shovel developed the V-Shape technology in 2018, securing patents in 2022, 2023, and 2024. These patents enable a 30% increase in miner density, providing significant operational advantages. According to the complaint, Compute North, a client of RK Mission Critical, initially sought to license this technology from Digital Shovel in 2019 but was refused. Despite this, RK Mission Critical allegedly produced containers strikingly similar to Digital Shovel’s, with some staff initially mistaking them for their own products.
“Instead of competing fairly, defendants are exploiting the innovative technologies that Digital Shovel has worked hard to develop and protect through patents,” the complaint stated.
Digital Shovel’s CEO, Scot Johnson, stated that based on RK Mission Critical’s marketing, they believe they’ve sold approximately 850 units which were sold for over $200,000 per unit, resulting in sales of $170 million worth of product.
“A variety of publicly traded mining companies are using the product from RK,” Johnson said. “However, our focus is not on them or any other end user at this time. It’s on enforcing our intellectual property on the company that is building products using our technology and stealing customers from us.”
Despite being aware of the pending patents since 2021, Digital Shovel claims RK Mission Critical continued its production without authorization, and their refusal to engage in settlement negotiations has led Digital Shovel to seek legal redress. The company aims to obtain compensation and a court order to prevent further sales of the infringing containers.
Bitcoin Magazine will be interviewing Johnson in an upcoming spaces on X later today at 1:15PM EST, where those interested in learning more about this lawsuit are encouraged to attend.