The Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) has requested additional information about the involvement of the self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator Craig Wright in authoring the Bitcoin white paper. The document was addressed to Ontier, the law firm.
COPA stands for an open financial system and was formed to remove barriers that stifle innovation. We are hosting the Bitcoin whitepaper and stand with our members and the crypto community to address this issue. Here’s our letter in response to last week’s cease and desists. pic.twitter.com/NfM56rfCEc
— COPA (@opencryptoorg) February 5, 2021
COPA was created in September 2020 to expand access for cryptocurrency companies to technology through a common patent library.
The alliance includes Jack Dorsey’s payments company Square. On its behalf, the alliance asked Ontier within two weeks to explain the basis on which Wright asserts copyright in the Bitcoin white paper.
COPA is seeking exact dates of when the document was written, information on the self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator’s whereabouts at the time, and the identities of anyone who may have helped him.
In 2019 Wright secured copyright on the Bitcoin white paper and the original code of the first cryptocurrency. Later, the US Copyright Office clarified that it did not recognise him as the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.
In January 2021 Wright accused Bitcoin.org and Bitcoincore.org of copyright infringement and demanded delete the white paper. A similar letter from Ontier’s lawyers was sent to Square, on whose site a copy of the document is hosted.
The owner of Bitcoin.org, Cobra, refused to comply with that demand. On February 1 he said he had been threatened with death by “someone associated with the Bitcoin SV (BSV) community.”
I’ve received a death threat from someone associated with the BSV community.
This person somehow discovered one of my business numbers, called me up, and made clear they would shoot me point-blank as soon as they obtain my personal information.
— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) January 31, 2021
“This person somehow found one of my business numbers, called me up, and made clear they would shoot me point-blank as soon as they obtain my personal information,” wrote Cobra.
Today was the deadline for me to stop hosting the whitepaper, otherwise I would be sued.
It’s still up: https://t.co/b7e8RRWBEc. pic.twitter.com/gR5Q9T2KV9
— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) February 4, 2021
“This person somehow found one of my business numbers, called me up, and made clear they would shoot me point-blank as soon as they obtain my personal information,” wrote Cobra.
I’ve received a death threat from someone associated with the BSV community.
This person somehow discovered one of my business numbers, called me up, and made clear they would shoot me point-blank as soon as they obtain my personal information.
— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) January 31, 2021
“This person somehow found one of my business numbers, called me up, and made clear they would shoot me point-blank as soon as they obtain my personal information,” wrote Cobra.
Today was the deadline for me to stop hosting the whitepaper, otherwise I would be sued.
It’s still up: https://t.co/b7e8RRWBEc. pic.twitter.com/gR5Q9T2KV9
— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) February 4, 2021
Earlier, Estonia and Colombia hosted the Bitcoin white paper on government sites following a call by former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan.
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