Judge orders Craig Wright to pay over $1M, accepts new evidence over Satoshi’s identity
The legal battle over Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity and Bitcoin rights has taken another turn in recent days, with a British judge rescheduling the trial between Craig Wright and Bitcoin Core developers for Feb. 5.
In 2016, Wright claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin (BTC), and sued 13 Bitcoin Core developers and a group of companies, including Blockstream, Coinbase, and Block, alleging violations of his copyright to Bitcoin's white paper, Bitcoin file format, and Bitcoin blockchain database. The group is represented in the case by the non-profit Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA).
On Dec. 15, during a pre-trial review, Justice Edward James Mellor allowed Wright to submit an additional 97 documents supporting his claim. The documents were allegedly found in two USB drives discovered in a drawer at his house in September, which included LaTex files — the open-source document preparation system used to draft the Bitcoin white paper.
Bitcoin developers accused Wright of fabricating evidence, forging and manipulating metadata, and purposefully prolonging the proceedings. According to them, the new documents only came to light after they filed 50 pieces of evidence to prove that Wright’s previously filed materials were forged.
Justice Mellor also granted the developers a second security application, ordering Wright to pay by Jan. 5 an additional 800,000 pounds (~$1 million) to cover the developers' legal costs in the event he loses the trial. Wright already deposited 100,000 pounds ($127,000) as a security payment.
In addition, the judge ordered Wright to pay 65,000 pounds ($82,000) to cover COPA’s costs for expert evidence related to his Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Wright claimed he has a disability due to ASD and produced a report outlining adjustments needed for him in the trial, including the list of all cross-examination questions. In cross-examination, the opposing party asks questions to clarify or discredit a witness' testimony.
Wright’s request was challenged by the developers, who hired an expert to support their claims. As a result, Wright will only be able to access LiveNote Screen and write questions on paper during the trial.
The Bitcoin code is open-sourced and freely distributed under the Massachusetts Institute of Technology license, allowing users to reuse it for any purpose, including proprietary applications. In his argument, Wright contends that Bitcoin Core developers are a “Bitcoin Partnership,” which is alleged to control Bitcoin.
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