After Winning Legal Fights in the UK, Craig Wright-the self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor- Can Fight Copyright Claims

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The UK may be aiming to overhaul its crypto laws – for once on the positive side – but it’ll do nothing to protect investors from Craig Wright’s copyright claims. In an unforeseen turn of events, the self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor won legal fights in the UK after three judges accepted his appeal to a previous court denial. Wright claims that he’s the famous Satoshi Nakamoto, and has filed pleas against Bitcoin forks and systems that supposedly breach his intellectual property rights.

After a court filing which Wright won, he will be able to argue legally that the Bitcoin file format is well-defined to receive protection from the law. Wright also claims that he first created the Bitcoin Satoshi Vision blockchain from an early Bitcoin fork which is the authentic blockchain that gave life to crypto.

What Does It Mean?

First things first – just because Craig Wright says he’s Satoshi Nakamoto doesn’t mean he is. All the court pleas will fall into oblivion if that claim is denied by the law in January 2024. That’s when the trial for his claim is set to begin, possibly revealing one of the world’s biggest secrets after all. So far, experts and the media have only taken guesses who Nakamoto may be, and they range from random developers to celebrities such as Elon Musk.

On February 8, 2023, a UK court dismissed Wright’s plea that he’d be able to block any operation of Bitcoin and systems based on it. The main ‘culprit’ was Bitcoin Cash, a famous Bitcoin fork which Wright believes breached his intellectual rights. In total, Wright sued 26 defendants associated with Bitcoin, including developers and other entities of Coinbase.

But, the tides have changed. A panel of three judges accepted his appeal to the previously dismissed case after deciding that he will be able to argue his case that Bitcoin could receive copyright protection under UK law. All that remains is for Wright to confirm that he’s the famed Satoshi Nakamoto in a trial set to begin in January 2024. If the court proves he’s right, he’ll have intellectual property over Bitcoin and many of its forks. The issue arose after a case in an Oslo court last year received forensic evidence that Wright is the purported owner of Bitcoin and the original blockchain. It contains specific discrepancies such as fonts that weren’t available at the time which might mean Wright was right all along.

A High-Stakes Case

Wright’s owners were delighted about the progression of the case. They called it a significant ruling which enables him to advance his claim for the copyright of the Bitcoin file format. Only time will tell if he’s right, but if the court says he is, it would be a huge deal for BTC and the blockchain. Such a ruling will surely impact the crypto landscape, although it’s certain to cause a shockwave.

So far, many have claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, but none have been able to prove it. Wright is sure he has a right to the ecosystem, and we’re eager to see what January 2024 brings.