Dr. Craig Steven Wright, who claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, will present his case in a UK court. Wright has made several attempts to claim ownership of the Bitcoin copyright, including the file format, white paper, and parts of the database. Despite winning a UK case in 2021, Wright’s chances of success remain slim unless he can prove his identity as Satoshi Nakamoto.
A UK court will hear the case of Dr. Craig Steven Wright, who claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.
The Australian computer scientist argues that the Bitcoin file format should be protected under UK copyright law. He will now have the opportunity to present his case before a judge.
Trying to Claim Bitcoin Copyright
While Dr. Wright continues to insist that he played a role in the founding of Bitcoin, many doubt his claims.
Skeptics point out that the real Satoshi Nakamoto could confirm his identity by providing a verified message with Nakamoto’s PGP key. No verified public message has appeared in this way since 2010.
As of 2019, Wright has made several attempts to claim copyright ownership of the Bitcoin file format, the Bitcoin whitepaper, and parts of the Bitcoin database. However, it has had little success so far. The United States Copyright Office dismissed Wright’s claims, suggesting that no one could copyright Bitcoin.
Craig Wright Has Better Luck in the UK
While he seems to have given up on his attempts in the US, Wright apparently believes that UK copyright law might be more favorable to his cause. And it has had some success in British courts.
In 2021, Wright won a case against the operator of bitcoin.org. The pseudonymous operator known as Cobra was ordered to pay Wright’s legal fees and remove the Bitcoin whitepaper hosted on his website.
However, Wright’s victory was largely symbolic, with the court only finding in his favor by default after Cobra failed to present a defense. Under UK law, defendants cannot make a legal argument anonymously without a court order.
To this day, Nakamoto’s white paper remains freely available at bitcoin.org. It is unknown if Cobra ever paid court-ordered legal costs.
Court Ready to Consider Bitcoin Copyright Claim
In 2022, Wright attempted once again to claim ownership of the Bitcoin copyright. The lawsuit names a list of defendants it identifies as “Bitcoin Core.”
Twenty-five individuals and corporations are listed as collective members that Wright says control the Bitcoin network. These include a number of high-profile Bitcoin developers, as well as companies like Block Inc., Chaincode, and Coinbase.
Initially, Judge Edward James Mellor dismissed the suit, as even under the assumption that the plaintiff is Satoshi Nakamoto, he has not been able to satisfactorily identify a specific “work” that would be the subject of a copyright claim.
However, this week, an appeals court overturned the initial sentence. The case is now expected to go to trial in early 2024. But Wright is still a long way from victory.
Victory Depends on Proving Satoshi Nakamoto’s Identity
Commenting on the appeal ruling, the Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund (BLDF) noted that Wright had won his day in court. But his chances of success are slim unless he can prove he really is Satoshi Nakamoto.
In the words of the BLDF, it is “inconceivable that someone claiming to be the author of an open source program would claim copyright infringement against the people who benefit from its open source license.”
By Audy Castaneda
