The Dogecoin (@dogecoin) $DOGE Foundation and House of Doge have ended their exclusive licensing deal, effective Oct. 19, according to an Oct. 23 SEC filing. House of Doge must change its nam
The Dogecoin (@dogecoin) $DOGE Foundation and House of Doge have ended their exclusive licensing deal, effective Oct. 19, according to an Oct. 23 SEC filing. House of Doge must change its name by Dec. 31, and its U.S. subsidiary faces the same deadline. The subsidiary also owes the foundation $400,000.
The split also ends House of Doge's status as the foundation's official commercial partner. A new organization, Dogecoin Labs, now holds that designation. The foundation will continue supporting open-source development and Dogecoin advocacy.
According to Cryptonews, the two sides ended the arrangement by mutual agreement. The termination removes the rights granted under the old licence, including exclusivity and sublicensing. The companies must also stop describing themselves as the foundation's "Official Corporate Arm" or "Official Commercial Partner."
The same report said the $400,000 is a negotiated termination payment. The subsidiary can settle it in cash, parent-company shares or both. House of Doge said it had not determined when sufficient funds would be available.
Some brand rights remain. A replacement non-exclusive licence preserves use of the Dogecoin and DOGE names and logos for three existing 21Shares products: the Dogecoin ETF, the Dogecoin ETP and the 2x Long Dogecoin ETF. Additional regulated or tokenized investment products require written approval from the foundation, Cryptonews reported.
Dogecoin Labs was announced on Oct. 21. Unchained reported that the company will run three DOGE products: the MyDoge wallet, the DogeOS application layer and Such App, a merchant payments tool. Jordan Jefferson, who founded MyDoge and DogeOS, is its CEO. Tim Stebbing, a Dogecoin Foundation director, also sits on its board.
In a press release, House of Doge (NASDAQ: HODO) said it would contribute select product, engineering and commercial operations to Dogecoin Labs in exchange for a strategic equity stake. The release lists closing conditions among the steps still to be completed. Neither company has disclosed the size or valuation of the stake, Unchained noted.
The foundation, founded in 2014, describes itself as the not-for-profit steward of Dogecoin. It defends the trademark and backs open-source development across the ecosystem, per the same release. Under the new structure, Dogecoin Labs focuses on commercial products while the foundation keeps its stewardship role.
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