- COPA has asked Craig Wright nine questions regarding his claim to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto
- The newly formed Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance has been co-founded by Square, who Wright has threatened to sue after they reposted the whitepaper
- Wright thinks he has copyright of the Bitcoin whitepaper, but no one has been granted such copyright
The Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a newly formed organization that “seeks to remove patents and litigation as a barrier to growth in crypto”, has demanded proof from Craig Wright that he is Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto before founding member Square will countenance removing the Bitcoin whitepaper from its website. The letter, sent from COPA to Wright’s lawyers, asks nine questions it says Wright must answer if he wants to assert what he says is his copyright over the Bitcoin whitepaper, an assertion that elicited a strong response from the cryptocurrency community two weeks ago and saw the Bitcoin whitepaper uploaded on several sites, including FullyCrypto.
COPA stands for an open financial system and was formed to remove barriers that stifle innovation. We are hosting the Bitcoin whitepaper and stand with our members and the crypto community to address this issue. Here’s our letter in response to last week’s cease and desists. pic.twitter.com/NfM56rfCEc
— COPA (@opencryptoorg) February 5, 2021
COPA Asks Wright Nine Questions
COPA’s nine questions relate to Wright’s claims that he wrote the Bitcoin whitepaper, asking him among other questions when and where he wrote it, if anyone else was involved, if he was working for anyone else at the time, and on what basis he asserts copyright in the UK. Wright decided two weeks ago to try and force websites Bitcoin.org and Bitcoincore.org to take down the Bitcoin whitepaper he says is his by copyright, despite having never been awarded such ownership and the original whitepaper being published under an open-source MIT license.
Bitcoin.org refused to bow to his demands and continued to host it, and Wright’s actions only antagonized the community, with many other sites, including Square, uploading the document to their website. This resulted in Wright’s lawyers demanding they take it down too, which resulted in the formation of COPA and the demand for proof that Wright created the original version of the Bitcoin whitepaper.
The letter gives Wright until February 19 to provide answers to the questions, when COPA will “respond substantively to your letter within a reasonable timeframe”.
Wright Getting Desperate
Wright filed for copyright of the Bitcoin whitepaper in May 2019 and seemed to think this gave him ownership, despite five other individuals having done the exact same thing – filing for copyright does not mean you have it. In any case, were the United States Copyright Office to grant Wright copyright of the Bitcoin whitepaper he would be able to license it in the US, but he would have to seek copyright ownership individually in every country in which he wished to exercise it, something COPA alludes to in their letter.
Wright is desperate to be officially seen as Bitcoin’s creator because he will then have dominion over everything that bears its name and image, meaning that he can monetize the $735 billion asset in a way that no one could have envisaged. As COPA founders know all too well, such an attempt flies in the face of the ethos behind Bitcoin’s creation.
