COPA files lawsuit in UK against Craig Wright for claiming copyright ownership of Bitcoin white paper

A crypto industry working group committed to patent sharing is asking the United Kingdom High Court to rule that Craig Wright does not own the Bitcoin white paper.

The civil suit from the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) challenges claims Wright has continuously made in recent years that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin and the author of the white paper. The white paper was published in 2008.

Wright's claims have been broadly criticized and dismissed, but he has continued to issue copyright infringement notices to multiple venues in an effort to get them to remove copies of the white paper. 

Most recently, his legal representatives sent notices to Bitcoin.org and Bitcoincore.org. This sparked a wave of opposition and new efforts to host the white paper in response, including multiple members of Congress. 

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COPA, a patent-sharing consortium founded by payments firm Square, first spoke out against Wright's tactics after he served the cease and desist notices. At the time, COPA sent a response to the notices, asking Wright to provide evidence as to the claim to copyright under UK law.

Now, the group wants Wright to answer those questions in court. 

COPA filed a lawsuit today asking the Intellectual Property List of the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts of England and Wales to declare that Wright does not own the Bitcoin white paper. It claims Wright is neither the author nor the owner of the white paper, and any use of the white paper doesn't infringe on any copyright held by Wright. 

Consequently, the group is seeking an injunction to restrain Wright from claiming he is the owner. COPA is also asking for an order that would require Wright to foot the bill for disseminating information that he is not the owner.

 

About Author

Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to [email protected] or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.