Even though, anybody can apply, Craig Wright has been granted copyright registrations for the original Bitcoin Whitepaper with the US Copyright Office. The pro-Bitcoin SV publication has used the news as evidence that Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto.
Every day we are witnessing the fact that the most obscure personas had been given a lot of money, a lot of luck and a lot of media attention. One of these people is notorious billionaire Craig Wright. You might ask yourself – what he did this time? Well, to be honest, he did what all of us could do – if we had spare time and 55 bucks in your pocket.
That day came yesterday. Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin, has filed registrations with the U.S. Copyright Office supporting his claims of authorship over the original Bitcoin code and the Satoshi white paper.
The registrations relate to “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” and “Bitcoin,” meaning the original 2009 code.
In the press release it’s said:
“In the future, Wright intends to assign the copyright registrations to Bitcoin Association to hold for the benefit of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Bitcoin Association is a global industry organization for Bitcoin businesses. It supports BSV and owns the Bitcoin SV client software.”
Founding President Jimmy Nguyen commented in the release:
“We are thrilled to see Craig Wright recognized as author of the landmark Bitcoin white paper and early code. Better than anyone else, Craig understands that Bitcoin was created be a massively scaled blockchain to power the world’s electronic cash for billions of people to use, and be the global data ledger for the biggest enterprise applications.
We look forward to working with Craig and others to ensure his original vision is recognized as Bitcoin and is realized through BSV.”
Of course, that made Wright’s most efficient wingman Ayre gleaming with joy and immediately tweeting:
Boom! Proof that #CraigisSatoshi has been accepted by US government copyright department.https://t.co/sr0PQno6Dg
— Calvin Ayre (@CalvinAyre) May 21, 2019
However, even though we are happy for this couple (or is it threesome now with Nguyen included?) we should explain some before said facts.
For $55 We Can All Be “Real Satoshi”
This registration ‘per se’ does not imply ownership nor it is an official patent. The copyright process allows anyone to register anything in an effort to prepare for something – imagine some lawsuits associated with ownership for example.
Computer code and white papers can be copyrighted insofar as they are considered literary works and, as the copyright office writes:
“In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.”
Yes, you’ve heard it right. That means that everybody, including yourself, can register this post and someone else, including Craig Wright, would have to fight you in court to contest it.
Or as Jerry Brito, executive director at advocacy group Coin Center said:
Registering a copyright is just filing a form. The Copyright Office does not investigate the validity of the claim; they just register it. Unfortunately there is no official way to challenge a registration. If there are competing claims, the Office will just register all of them. https://t.co/YA70ALpG1Y
— Jerry Brito (@jerrybrito) May 21, 2019
First Stage – Denial
Even though Ayre tried to “mansplain” what his partner did:
to correct Troll FUD….Craig has not applied, he did that months back..he has now been issued a fully vetted certificate of copyright by US Government Copyright office. This can not be contested unless you have standing so this is now firm. https://t.co/hpNhfdIQkL
— Calvin Ayre (@CalvinAyre) May 21, 2019
And:
Craig has both certificates…I have seen them, but he is getting them reissued without his home address so he can release…hopefully he can have these at the CoinGeek Scaling Conference in Toronto in over a week so he can show the world. https://t.co/Spw2scgFci
— Calvin Ayre (@CalvinAyre) May 21, 2019
It’s still not holding water:
Months…? pic.twitter.com/FbM6j2I8M1
— ⛏️MINEYOURBIZ SETH!⛏🛠 📽[BitTube/YouTube guy] (@SethEstrada) May 21, 2019
Running From Taxes, Aren’t We?
We still don’t know if Craig, now obviously the richest man on planet Earth included this info when doing his taxes, but one is clear – it sure won’t be ATO, Australian Tax Office. Because, even though he was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia, since yesterday – our Craig Wright is a citizen of Antigua. Antigua, the same place where his dearly beloved partner Calvin Ayre has a house and is currently building “The center for all things Bitcoin SV”.
Antigua’s newest, most secure, most energy efficient and most high tech building, “Canada Place”, nearly ready for occupancy and the new global head office of Ayre Group. The centre for all things #BitcoinSV in #Antigua. pic.twitter.com/kJwnMPmVi7
— Calvin Ayre (@CalvinAyre) May 19, 2019
In one of his posts Wright tried to explain why he thinks the legal system of the Caribbean states is more flexible than the Australian:
“In 2011, I had around US$30 million in Caribbean bank accounts. They were all in structured trusts and companies. If I had brought the money back to Australia to use it as cash, I would have ended up paying tax directly”.
Be that as it may, the crypto players seized this situation and took what they could. In the time of writing Bitcoin SV was up 77% to almost $2.
