Screenshot Via BBC
Australian computer scientist Craig Wright claims he created bitcoin, and is now taking legal action over copyright infringement.
London-based Ontier, a law firm representing Wright, has been granted by the High Court to serve legal proceedings against a website operator that publishes the bitcoin whitepaper created by Satoshi Nakomoto.
"The bitcoin.org website, which promotes the digital asset referred to as 'Bitcoin Core', is hosting and publishing a copy of Dr Wright's academic White Paper 'Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,' without Dr Wright's consent," Ontier said in a statement on Thursday.
Wright now has the ability to pursue the case, even though the anonymous defendant, who may be based abroad, has not revealed their identity or address, Reuters reported, citing court filings.
His legal action could lead to the UK court ruling on whether he is indeed the true inventor of the world's most well-known cryptocurrency.
People around the world have long questioned the true identity of Satoshi Nakomoto, and a ruling could be a landmark event in this scenario. It will determine whether Wright did, in fact, author the whitepaper.
The publisher of the website, who goes by the name "Cøbra" on Twitter, claims it is not based in Britain and that Wright's copyright claims can be easily disputed. Wright, a resident of the UK, says he has the evidence to support his claims and demands that Cøbra withdraw its use of the bitcoin whitepaper.
"We've been threatened to take down the Bitcoin white paper by someone who obviously isn't the inventor of Bitcoin (if he was, that would make him the 25th richest person in the world, which he obviously isn't)," Cøbra said in an e-mail to Reuters. "Seems like he's trying to abuse the UK courts to make them try to censor the white paper and harass small websites like us providing education content with his behaviour."
It is unclear whether Cøbra will disclose their identity for the court's ruling, or surrender to a default judgement in Wright's favor. However, the account tweeted on Thursday: "If I have to give up my pseudonymity to defend Satoshi's whitepaper, arguably the most important paper of the 21st century, then so be it."
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