New tech innovations usually spur a wave of companies competing to win patents for their inventions. But with budding blockchain technology, the decision to patent isn’t always easy. Blockchain was first created as the underpinning technology to crypocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum, which use code that is free and open to anyone. Many blockchain developers still embrace this open source ethos and resist their companies’ attempts to patent their work, Ropes & Gray LLP Intellectual property litigation partner Leslie Spencer and attorney Marta Belcher told Bloomberg Law in a recent podcast episode of Code & Conduit.