This week, London’s High Court granted permission to a litigation law firm ONTIER LLP to start legal proceedings on behalf of their client, Dr Craig Wright, against ‘Cøbra’, the pseudonymous operator and publisher of the bitcoin.org website. Dr Wright owns the copyright to the White Paper, first released in October 2008 under the now-famous moniker ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’.
Proceedings were issued on 24 February 2021 in the Intellectual Property List of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales. On 21 April 2021, Dr Wright was granted permission to serve ‘Cøbra’ out of the jurisdiction. Dr Wright is seeking a declaration that he owns the copyright in the Bitcoin White Paper filed as CLAIM NO.: IL-2021-000008. Similarly, Dr Wright does not wish to restrict access to his White Paper (which is freely accessible on his blog, https://craigwright.net/bitcoin-white-paper.pdf) Dr Wright is being advised by ONTIER’s Head of Litigation, Paul Ferguson, with Partner, Derek Stinson, and Senior Associate, Simon Cohen. Alastair Wilson QC and Michael Hicks of Hogarth Chambers act as Counsel.
This litigation is the latest in a series of legal claims issued by ONTIER LLP on behalf of Dr Wright and his associated entities to uphold his right to protect his lawfully-held digital assets and his reputation as the creator of Bitcoin and his associated intellectual property. ONTIER LLP is a law firm which specialises in international commercial disputes and transactions. The firm is increasingly recognised for its high-profile and market leading Bitcoin related and cybercrime litigation and has an established and growing practice for recovering lost, stolen and hacked Bitcoin.
