The self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin, Craig Wright, has won a default judgment in London’s High Court in his copyright infringement case against the pseudonymous operator of bitcoin.org. According to a report, the website and its owner Cobra must remove the Bitcoin white paper from the web portal and pay $48K in legal costs as well.
Self-Styled ‘Satoshi’ Wins Default Judgement Against Cobra and Bitcoin.org
Craig Wright is back in the headlines again as the self-styled Satoshi Nakamoto has won a default judgment in the U.K. against the pseudonymous Cobra. Bitcoin.com News reported on Wright’s action against bitcoin.org and Cobra at the end of January. Proceedings actually started, however, on February 24 via the Intellectual Property List of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales.
The court action caused a lot of controversy amongst bitcoiners because Wright still has yet to prove he invented Bitcoin to the greater crypto community. In fact, there is so much evidence contradicting Craig Wright’s story it’s been said he simply “thrives on attention.”
“He’s had four years to come forward with proof that he is Satoshi, and I, for one, am not satisfied,” blockchain and software developer Jameson Lopp said in 2019.
Following the initial filing of the copyright infringement case against bitcoin.org and the website’s operator Cobra, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) filed a civil lawsuit in the U.K. against Wright’s claims to the famous white paper.
“Today, COPA initiated a lawsuit asking the UK High Court to declare that Mr. Craig Wright does not have copyright ownership over the Bitcoin white paper,” the working group said at the time. After the COPA court filing, a representative of Craig Wright, chief scientist at Nchain wrote to Bitcoin.com News and said:
This is exactly what we have wanted to happen for some time and I am very pleased this body has agreed to stand up in court as I can now have my credentials judged legally.
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On June 28 and also updated the following day, a blog post published by ontier.digital explains that Wright has won a default judgment in London’s High Court against Cobra. The High Court judge of the Chancery Division granted Wright’s request which includes:
- “An injunction prohibiting the Defendant from infringing Dr Wright’s copyright in the United Kingdom whether by making the White Paper available for download from the bitcoin.org website or in any other way.”
- “An order requiring the Defendant to publish a copy of the Court’s order on the bitcoin.org website for 6 months.”
The ontier.digital website announcement details that Cobra preferred to “maintain their anonymity.” On Twitter, bitcoin.org’s pseudonymous operator spoke about the ruling and said that it was the perfect example of why uncensorable and permissionless networks like Bitcoin are needed.
“All your fiat-based assets are ultimately secured by the same legal system that today made it illegal for me to host the Bitcoin white paper because a notorious liar swore before a judge that he’s Satoshi,” Cobra tweeted. “A system where ‘justice’ depends on who’s got the bigger wallet.” The anonymous bitcoiner added:
I don’t think you could get a better advertisement of *why* Bitcoin is necessary than what happened today. Rules enforced through cryptography are far more superior than rules based on whoever can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in court.
What do you think about Craig Wright winning a default judgment against Cobra and bitcoin.org? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
