- The Bitcoin whitepaper has six copyright claims on it
- Craig Wright started the trend in April 2019 when he claimed he had been awarded copyright
- Four other individuals have followed suit, proving how ludicrous his claims are
The Bitcoin whitepaper is hot property. Don’t just take our word for it though – talk to the five entities who have put in copyright claims on it. Ever since Craig “Fraudulent Documents” Wright filed the first claim in April last year, four others have come forward with competing claims, but just who are they, and what is there to gain from establishing copyright over the Bitcoin whitepaper?
Wright Starts a Trend, and not Just for Shit Socks
Bitcoin, as everyone knows, was created by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, who did not file a copyright claim when the whitepaper was released into the wild on October 31, 2008. Craig Wright, who was accused by the judge in his case with the estate of Dave Kleiman to have submitted “fraudulent” documentation during the trial, filed a claim to having written the whitepaper last April, with the news breaking a month later.
Some saw this as being definitive proof that he was indeed Bitcoin’s creator, and Bitcoin SV’s price rocketed as a result. However, Wright soon learnt that having a copyright claim awarded is not the same as having it filed, which is what he did – he had been awarded nothing. Since then, four others have joined the ‘race’ to lay claim to the Bitcoin whitepaper:
- Jurgen Etienne Guido, Paris (two applications)
- Arthur van Pelt, Japan
- Wei Liu, US
- Satoshi Nakamoto, US
These individuals all have differing rationales and levels of authenticity behind their claims, with noted Craig Wright skeptic Arthur van Pelt making his application purely to prove that almost anyone could do what Wright had done. As for the others, Jurgen Guido claims to be the real Satoshi Nakamoto (with no evidence); Wei Liu, CEO of crypto fund MarvelousPeach Capital, told CoinDesk that he “filed it just to let people know anyone can register a copyright. Everyone can be Satoshi Nakamoto”; and nothing is known about ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’, who filed an address in Tokyo, Japan.
Would the Real Satoshi Pull This Stunt?
These candidates will have their applications, along with supporting evidence, assessed by the Copyright Office, who will then award or reject the copyright application accordingly. Owning the Bitcoin whitepaper copyright would go a long way to helping someone try and exert control over the Bitcoin protocol, as Wright wants to do, while the real Satoshi Nakamoto would likley hand it straight back to the developers.
When considering if the real Satsohi Nakamoto is hidden among the list of five ‘candidates’, consider that Nakamoto went to pains to keep his identity hidden – is he really likely to suddenly reveal his name and address to the world just to claim copyright of the whitepaper? No.
The World Waits
Were Wright, or any of the other applicants, to be awarded copyright of the Bitcoin whitepaper, it would be the clearest indication yet that they are the real Satoshi Nakamoto. On the flip side, a rejection, for Wright in particular, would be a devastating blow to his chances of being accepted as Bitcoin’s creator.
Given his penchant for falsifying documents, one hopes that the copyright office do all the relevant checking before they give their verdict on the voracity of all the claims.
