For a long time now, the talked-about computer scientist and entrepreneur Craig Wright has claimed that he is bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto. However, many in the crypto world believe that this is not true.
On Tuesday, Wright filed copyright registrations for the bitcoin white paper, i.e. the document from 2008 that for the first time presented the idea of bitcoin, as well as bitcoin’s source code. In the registrations, he stated that he is behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
But the fact that Craig Wright filed copyright registrations for bitcoin does not mean he has been recognized as Satoshi Nakamoto by the government, Financial Times reports, according to Coindesk.
Does not investigate the truth
There have been reports that the United States Copyright Office has confirmed that Craig Wright is indeed Satoshi Nakamoto.
For example, a spokesperson for Wright has argued that “the registrations issued by the US Copyright Office recognize Wright as the author – under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto – of both the white paper and code”. The spokesperson has further argued that the office is the first to recognize Wright as the creator of bitcoin.
However, this is a claim that is inaccurate according to Copyright Office since they do not investigate whether the information in a registration application is true. The only thing the office does is to simply register the application.
“A registration represents a claim to an interest in a work protected by copyright law, not a determination of the truth of the claims therein”, the Copyright Office writes in a press release.
Could cancel the application
The Copyright Office further say that erroneous copyright claims can be penalized.
Also, if it is certain that the information in an application is false, the US Copyright Office may cancel a registration application, Cointelegraph writes.
