Aave Proposes Independent Legal Entity for Protocol Intellectual Property

Aave is proposing to establish a legal entity called the Aave Foundation, which would hold intellectual property (IP) associated with the Aave Protocol. This move comes as part of the Aave Will Win framework, aimed at strengthening the protocol by unifying all assets under one token, $AAVE.

The Cayman Islands-based foundation would have a memberless structure and be responsible for holding, protecting, and licensing IP on behalf of the Aave Protocol. The proposal outlines two phases: the first phase focuses on establishing the foundation and appointing its initial oversight roles, while later steps involve transferring the trademark, domains, and codebase IP.

The current governance process would remain unchanged, with token holders retaining their decision-making powers over protocol parameters, budgets, and service-provider engagements. The Aave Labs team would have no direct control or governance role in the foundation, ensuring a separation of powers between the protocol's development and its legal entity.