That damned thing never forgets your search history, either. It learns about you and starts talking to you like it's your high school typing teacher. It don't know me!! It approaches creepy. However, I pay for it because I use it so much. It's amazing. I'm retired. I sit on my porch with my laptop watching TV and the lake I live on. If something crosses my mind I want to know more about, I ask it. It put together an introductory Physics course for me. Why just today, I asked it about David Schwartz patents. I am not kidding.
Found the key ones:US5025369A β βComputer systemβ
Filed Aug. 25, 1988, granted June 18, 1991. Inventor: David J. Schwartz. This is the famous βdistributed computer systemβ patent β not blockchain, but clearly distributed processing.
US11940987B2 / US20230004553A1 β βPreventing a transmission of an incorrect copy of a record of dataβ
Inventors include David Schwartz and Arthur Britto. Filed by PolySign, later security interest assigned to Ripple Labs. This is much closer to crypto custody / digital record integrity.
US20230370263A1 β βMaster key escrow processβ
Inventors include David Schwartz and Kimon Papahadjopoulos. PolySign-related; not XRPL itself, but crypto custody/key management.
Important correction: US9875510B1 βConsensus system for tracking peer-to-peer digital recordsβ is not Schwartzβs patent. Google Patents lists Lance Kasper as inventor, though it cites the 2014 Ripple consensus paper by David Schwartz, Noah Youngs, and Arthur
Britto.So your memory is basically right: the one going back to the eighties is real, but itβs distributed computing, not blockchain by name.
how about bank of america patents that mention ripple
There are two different claims that often get mixed together:1. Bank of America patents that explicitly mention "Ripple"
The strongest example is Bank of America's patent application:"Real-time net settlement by distributed ledger system" (US20190172059A1)What's interesting is that the patent drawings compare:Traditional correspondent banking
A "prefunded Ripple settlement scheme"
A distributed-ledger-based real-time settlement scheme
The patent literally contains a figure labeled "prefunded 'ripple' settlement scheme."This is the patent XRP researchers usually point to when they say Bank of America referenced Ripple technology.2. Patents that mention Ripple as an example technology
Some Bank of America blockchain patents discuss XRP/Ripple as an example of an existing distributed-ledger network. For example, one patent states:
"XRP, also known as Ripple..." and then describes Ripple as a global payments network used by banks.That is different from patenting Ripple itself. It is more like citing an existing technology in the background section.What I did not find
I did not find a Bank of America patent that says:"Bank of America owns Ripple technology"
"Bank of America owns XRP"
"Bank of America invented XRP"
"Bank of America requires XRP"
Those claims circulate heavily in XRP social media but are not supported by the patent text I reviewed. The patents generally describe settlement systems, distributed ledgers, and in some cases reference Ripple as an example or comparison.The patent XRP holders focus on most
Bank of America's "Real-time net settlement by distributed ledger system" patent is the one worth reading because it:discusses cross-border settlement,
uses distributed-ledger concepts,
includes a Ripple settlement illustration,
and was filed during the period when major banks were evaluating RippleNet and blockchain-based settlement models.
One interesting detail: the patent contrasts a prefunded Ripple-style approach with a "just-in-time" distributed-ledger settlement model, suggesting the inventors were familiar enough with Ripple's architecture to use it as a benchmark in the patent.If you'd like, I can also pull together a list of every Bank of America patent that mentions XRP, Ripple, RippleNet, ILP (Interledger), or distributed ledger settlement and rank them by how directly they relate to Ripple technology.
any business connections between bofa and ripple
The short answer is yes, there appear to be business connections between Bank of America and Ripple, but the extent of those connections is not publicly
disclosed.Here is what can be documented:1. Bank of America has been associated with RippleNet
Bank of America has been listed in connection with RippleNet, Ripple's network for cross-border payments. Ripple's governance materials describe a committee of major financial institutions that help evolve RippleNet standards.2. Bank of America executives have publicly mentioned Ripple
Reports from 2020 cite Bank of America's Head of Global Banking referring to Ripple as a partner during a Treasury Insights discussion about payments modernization.3. Bank of America explored Ripple-style settlement technology
The strongest hard evidence is the bank's patent work. Its "Real-time net settlement by distributed ledger system" patent explicitly includes a diagram labeled a "prefunded ripple settlement scheme", showing the bank's engineers were analyzing Ripple's approach to cross-border settlement.4. Evidence of testing or pilot activity
Industry reporting from 2019 stated that Bank of America had quietly tested Ripple's distributed ledger technology and that Ripple had identified Bank of America as a customer in a presentation.What has not been confirmed
I could not find reliable evidence that:Bank of America uses XRP for all internal transactions.
Bank of America holds a strategic XRP treasury.
Bank of America has deployed XRP at scale in production.
Bank of America has announced a major commercial XRP settlement program.
Many of those claims circulate on XRP-focused social media, but the bank itself has not publicly confirmed them. My assessment
For someone who has followed Ripple as closely as you have, the most significant facts are:Bank of America studied Ripple deeply enough to reference a Ripple settlement model in its patents.
There is evidence of interaction between the organizations and RippleNet involvement.
The public does not know whether Bank of America currently uses XRP, Ripple Payments, RLUSD, or any Ripple infrastructure in production at meaningful scale. That remains undisclosed.
One interesting historical note: in 2019β2020, several observers considered Bank of America one of the most likely large U.S. banks to eventually use Ripple technology because it had accumulated one of the largest blockchain patent portfolios among U.S. banks while simultaneously studying Ripple-based settlement models.If you'd like, I can also put together a timeline (2016β2026) of every documented interaction between Bank of America, Ripple, XRP, RippleNet, and related patents.