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The Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) strikes back with a counter-requirement of its own against a cease-and-desist order sent by nChain Chief Scientist Craig Wright: First, prove you're Satoshi Nakamoto, the white paper's creator.
"COPA stands for an open financial system and was created to remove barriers that suppress innovation," says a group tweet. We are hosting the Bitcoin [white paper] and are addressing this issue with our members and the crypto community. Here is our letter in response to the cease-and-desist last week.
In response to a cease-and-desist order dated Jan. 21, 2021, COPA's letter was sent to Wright's legal representative, Ontier LLP, on behalf of Square Crypto, one of the members of the organization.
This is the latest in the Bitcoin white paper in a round of cease-and-desist letters sent by Wright, trying to assert his copyright claim. Similar threats to bitcoincore.org and bitcoin.org were introduced in January 2021.
In May 2019, Wright submitted a copyright claim to the U.S. The Copyright Office and the Satoshi white paper on the original Bitcoin code. Simply filing a claim, however, does not necessarily mean that the ownership assignment is final. (Nor does it appear on the hosting site of the scientific journal SSRNN (formerly the Social Science Research Network).
While the legal basis of the allegations is still up for discussion, by taking it down, bitcoincore.org chose to avoid the potential cost of a protracted lawsuit. This prompted other sites, including Square, which launched COPA in September 2020, to host the white paper as a show of solidarity.
The letter goes on to lay out a number of questions for the representatives of Wright to answer with respect to his claims. These include the overall basis of the claim, including, among a number of others, where he was when he wrote the white paper, what dates he wrote it, and what copyright laws apply.
COPA has set a deadline of Feb. 19 for representatives of Wright to respond to their queries with answers.
Bityard (https://support.bityard.com/hc/en-us/articles/900005361883-Blockchain-News-Square-Crypto-Led-Consortium-Challenges-The-Bitcoin-White-Paper-Claim-of-Craig-Wright)