Craig Steven Wright (“CSW”), the Australian computer scientist and self-proclaimed inventor of the Bitcoin protocol, has claimed that the US Copyright Office recently awarded him a copyright registration for being the original author of the Bitcoin whitepaper.
According to CSW, he has also been granted a copyright registration for writing “most of the original code” used to implement the Bitcoin blockchain network.
Commenting on the matter, DecryptMedia revealed that a spokesperson had sent a press release to the news media outlet, stating:
This is the first government agency recognition of Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, CoinGeek reported that the registrations (allegedly) “issued by the US Copyright Office recognize Wright as the author” of both the initial Bitcoin codebase and the cryptocurrency’s whitepaper, which was published after the code was released.
Wright Has Only Submitted A Claim, Has Not Received Any “Recognition”
As pointed out by DecryptMedia, Wright’s claim that he has been granted “government agency recognition” would appear questionable. It seems that Wright has only registered a claim with the Copyright Office, which any individual or organization can submit.
At this point, the only thing that can be confirmed is that Wright paid a $35 fee in order to file an application which requests that he should be granted US copyright registrations for the authorship of the Bitcoin whitepaper.
Registering A Copyright Only Requires “Filling Out A Form”
As explained by Jerry Brito, Director at Coin Center, registering a copyright only requires filling out a simple form. Moreover, the US Copyright Office does not conduct an investigation, in order to determine the validity of the claim, Brito noted. The Office is only responsible for “registering” all claims submitted.
The Coin Center Director also clarified that copyright registration does not, in any way, mean or imply “recognition of authorship.” In statements shared with DecryptMedia, Brito further explained:
[CSW’s copyrights claim and application are] simply recognition by the Copyright Office that someone is claiming authorship. Registering a copyright is a simple as filling out a form with your claim… It would be up to a court to decide if a copyright registration is based on fraud or not.
Bitcoin SV Surges Nearly 80%
Soon after CoinGeek reported that CSW had received copyright registrations for being the author of the Bitcoin whitepaper, the price of Bitcoin “Satoshi Vision” (BSV) surged by nearly 80% according to CryptoCompare data.
