Cobra, the pseudonymous creator of the Bitcoin.org website, has been
ordered by London’s High Court to discontinue hosting its copy of the Bitcoin
white paper.
Citing copyright infringement brought forward by nChain Chief Scientist
Craig Wright, the judge had no option but to rule a default judgment because
Cobra chose not to make an appearance, Wright’s representation, Ontier LLP, said via a
statement on Monday.
Judge David Hodge QC issued an injunction prohibiting Cobra from
infringing Wright’s copyright in the U.K., either through making the white
paper accessible for download on the website or “in any other way.”
An order requiring bitcoin.org to publish a copy of the
court’s order was also issued while an inquiry will be established to determine
the damages caused by Cobra against Wright, Ontier said.
Bitcoin.org is an independent open-source project that aims to support Bitcoin
development. The website and its creator have been embroiled in a sparing of legal
threats.
Proceedings were issued on Feb. 24 of this year in the Intellectual
Property List of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales. In
April, Wright was granted permission to serve Cobra and sought a declaration
that he owns the copyright to the Bitcoin white paper, claiming Cobra was
infringing his rights.
Since at least the start of this year, the website has said that it
believes Wright’s claims are “without merit” and has refused to take the paper
down. Ontier said Wright did not wish to restrict access to “his” paper but
instead he did not agree with its use by supporters and developers of
“alternative assets.”
“… To promote or otherwise misrepresent those assets as being Bitcoin
given that they do not support or align with the vision for Bitcoin as he set
out in his White Paper,” Simon Cohen, senior associate at Ontier.
Wright purports to be Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Though the
true identity of Nakamoto has never been revealed, Wright’s attempt to threaten
those disseminating the white paper runs contrary to the spirit of bitcoin, said
Cobra on Tuesday.
CoinDesk attempted to contact both Craig Wright and Cobra on more than
one occasion but did not receive a reply by press time.
Source: Coindesk
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