Sean Worthington's patent for the underlying technology that makes CloudCoin work has been granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office.                  This means the patent application, entitled "Method of Authenticating and Exchanging Virtual Currency", will be protected  from infringement or encroachment for a decade after issuance.  This is huge news for CloudCoin and a strong affirmation of the value of the underlying protocol as a novel system for authentication.  As well as for its use as a blockchain alternative or possible ameliioration/supplement to overcome clockchain inefficiencies.