Dr Craig Wright awarded default judgement in Bitcoin white paper lawsuit! Dr Craig Wright awarded default judgement in his intellectual property infringement case against Twitter user Cøbra concerning bitcoin.org’s hosting of Satoshi Nakamoto’s White Paper.
As a result, the English High Court has granted Dr. Wright’s request that Cøbra is no longer allowed to make the White Paper available for download in the United Kingdom.
Dr Craig Wright, was today awarded default judgment in his copyright infringement action against ‘Cøbra’. This is an important development in Dr Wright’s quest to obtain judicial vindication of his copyright in his White Paper. https://t.co/Wj0PGtdPvD#bitcoin #law #legal
— ONTIER LLP (@ONTIERLLP) June 28, 2021
The hearing was conducted remotely by His Honour Judge Hodge QC and drew significant public interest. The nearly 50 people in attendance was a record according to the Judge. Cøbra , or someone using his name, was also present for the virtual hearing – however, he was not entitled to make any oral submissions without formally identifying himself – which they refused to do.
The lawsuit had been filed against Cøbra, the pseudonymous operator of Bitcoin.org, over its hosting of the White Paper. Dr. Wright claimed that it infringed upon his intellectual property rights as the author. While Cøbra’s exact identity was not public, the court allowed Dr. Wright to serve them with the lawsuit electronically and ‘out of jurisdiction’.
The default judgement was awarded due to the defendant, Cøbra, declining to defend the claim. Under United Kingdom civil procedure rules, the court can award judgement in favor of the plaintiff if the defendant fails to respond to the lawsuit within the relevant time.
The defendant had submitted a last-ditch, four-page document to the court last week, supposedly concerning matters which Cøbra thought the court should be aware of before hearing the default judgement application. Cøbra had requested the default judgement hearing be stayed until after the COPA lawsuit against Dr. Wright is resolved.
The results of this judgement are significant – Bitcoin.org may no longer make the White Paper available in the United Kingdom. They must publish a statement which acknowledges the outcome of the lawsuit and include a link to the court order. Cøbra, as the losing party, must also pay Dr. Wright’s interim costs in the case – the judge set this at 35,000 pounds, but will be subject to a more detailed assessment.
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