Craig Wright, the on-again, off-again claimant to be bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, is at it again. Today it was revealed that he has obtained a copyright for the original bitcoin white paper as well as the original code used to build bitcoin.

An Australian entrepreneur, Wright (pictured) was first claimed to be Nakamoto in a report published in 2015, and Wright himself made the claim in May 2016. Days later, Wright walked away from the claim after the so-called evidence he presented was ripped to shreds by the bitcoin community.

Fast forward three years and Wright is back, filing two copyright claims with the U.S. Copyright Office that were granted in April. According to a press release published by Coingeek, the registrations issued by the Copyright Office recognize Wright as the author – under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto – of both the bitcoin white paper and the code. It’s the first government agency to recognize the claim.

The release, which refers to Wright in the third person, isn’t directly attributed to an organization or individual but appears to have come from Bitcoin SV, the bitcoin fork run by Wright himself. Although the copyright registrations have been confirmed, in all likelihood Wright wrote the press release himself and hence has written quotes praising himself.

The release does say that “Wright intends to assign the copyright registrations to Bitcoin Association to hold for the benefit of the bitcoin ecosystem.” Claimed to be a global industry organization for bitcoin businesses, the association is said to support Bitcoin SV and owns the Bitcoin SV client software.

The importance of the copyright filings is open to dispute. Jerry Brito, executive director of CoinCenter, wrote on Twitter, “Registering a copyright is just filing a form. The Copyright Office does not investigate the validity of the claim; they just register it.”

Venture capital lawyer Chris Harvey went further, suggesting that the copyright claims made by Wright may be false but there is little redress available.

False copyright registration is "copyfraud". Unfortunately, no private right of action exists under relevant US copyright law, 18 U.S.C. § 506(e). Violations are punishable by a fine of up to $2,500. No company has ever been prosecuted for violating this. https://t.co/SgwKgbQm2L

— Chris Harvey (@ChrisHarveyEsq) May 21, 2019

Whether the claims were made in good faith or not, cryptocurrency investors reacted to the news by buying Bitcoin SV. The price of the cryptocurrency rose 78% as of 10:10 p.m. EDT, to $111.68, its highest price since November. It’s also a remarkable turnaround for the cryptocurrency that was delisted by major exchanges in April, reducing access and liquidity.

Photo: Soldierx.com