The Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) has filed a lawsuit against the self-proclaimed creator of the first cryptocurrency, Craig Wright. The reason was his copyright statements on the white paper of bitcoin and the requirement to remove the document from open sources.
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. We stand in support of the Bitcoin developer community and the many others who’ve been threatened for hosting the White Paper. pic.twitter.com/QNDEq3H6Oq
— COPA (@opencryptoorg) April 12, 2021
COPA has filed a claim with the High Court of London. The alliance demanded to admit that the defendant is not the author and does not have the corresponding right to the white paper of the first cryptocurrency.
The plaintiff also asked to prohibit Wright from claiming involvement in the writing of the document, claiming copyright or taking any action that would imply that such statements are true.
“We support the Bitcoin developer community and many others who have been threatened for posting the white paper,” the COPA noted.
The organization was created in September 2020 with the aim of expanding the access of cryptocurrency companies to technology through a shared library of patents.
Participants include Jack Dorsey payment company Square. On March 15, 2021, COPA was joined by cryptocurrency exchanges OKCoin and Kraken, a provider of analytical software MicroStrategy, as well as Chaincode Labs.
COPA wants a world where people can use cryptocurrency without being afraid of patents or legal threats. We are so grateful for your support. We’re excited to announce @OKCoin, @crazyfx, @ChaincodeLabs, and @MicroStrategy as new members. Join us at https://t.co/MXctA8fTge.
— COPA (@opencryptoorg) March 15, 2021
In 2019, Wright took over the copyright for the white paper and Bitcoin source code. Later, the US Copyright Office clarified that they did not recognize him as the creator of digital gold, Satoshi Nakamoto.
In January 2021, Wright accused Bitcoin.org and Bitcoincore.org of copyright infringement and demanded that the white paper be removed. Ontier lawyers sent a similar letter to Square, which has a copy of the document on its website.
Bitcoin.org owner Cobra refused to comply with this requirement. February 1 he reported about death threats from someone “associated with the Bitcoin SV community.”
Earlier, former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan suggested that government websites of different countries place a Bitcoin white paper in response to Wright’s statements. Estonia and Colombia supported the call.
In February, COPA demanded that the self-proclaimed creator of bitcoin clarify on what basis he claims the copyright on the white paper.
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