Digital Shovel Holdings Inc. has filed a lawsuit against RK Mission Critical LLC, RK Mechanical LLC, and RK Industries LLC in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, accusing them of patent infringement, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. The dispute centers on Digital Shovel’s V-Shape technology, which is designed to increase miner density in crypto mining containers.
Digital Shovel developed the V-Shape technology in 2018 and obtained patents in 2022, 2023, and 2024. These patents enable a 30% increase in miner density, resulting in 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 looked remarkably similar to Digital Shovel’s, with some employees initially mistaking 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.
Scot Johnson, CEO of Digital Shovel, stated that based on its marketing strategy, RK Mission Critical is expected to have sold approximately 850 units, which were sold for over $200,000 per unit, resulting in $170 million in product sales.
“A variety of publicly traded mining companies are using RK’s product,” Johnson said. “However, our focus right now is not on them or any other end user. It’s about enforcing our intellectual property on the company that builds products using our technology and takes customers away from us.”
Despite being aware of the pending patents since 2021, Digital Shovel alleges that RK Mission Critical has continued production without permission, and their refusal to enter into settlement negotiations has prompted Digital Shovel to take legal action. The company is seeking compensation and an injunction to prevent further sales of the infringing containers.
Bitcoin Magazine will interview Johnson in an upcoming spaces on X later today at 1:15 p.m. EST, where anyone interested in learning more about this lawsuit is welcome to attend.