Matter Labs, known for zkSync on Ethereum's layer-2 network, announced on June 2 that it would withdraw all trademark applications for the term "zero-knowledge (ZK)."

This decision followed strong criticism from industry figures like Polygon's Sandeep Nailwal, Brendan Farmer, StarkWare's Eli Ben-Sasson, Polyhedra Network's Tiancheng Xie, and Turing Award winner Shafi Goldwasser, who jointly denounced Matter Labs' attempt to trademark ZK, arguing it should remain a public good.

In response, Matter Labs acknowledged community feedback and stated it would cease its trademark efforts, citing challenges in finding universally accepted neutrality. Despite this announcement, the trademark application for ZK remained pending according to the US Patent and Trademark Office's website, filed on Feb. 27.