Yesterday was the first day of closing arguments in the trial hoping to finally prove once and for all that Craig S Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto. The Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) published its entire closing argument just before the court session began, which ran to 225 pages containing an almost farcical litany of contradiction, forgery and just plain nonsense unleashed by the Satoshi wannabe.
But aside from the (really very strong) evidence that Faketoshi is just that, COPA also announced its intention to pass evidence to the Director of Public Prosecution, in order that U.K. prosecutors might consider if Wright has been guilty of perjury or perverting the course of justice during his defense. Perjury carries a maximum jail sentence of 7 years in the U.K. and Wright has been vigorously supporting his claim to Satoshihood in court with a string of tall tales and doctored documents.
But aside from the chance of an extended stay at His Majesty’s Pleasure, what are the consequences of a loss for Wright at this trial? Of course he could, and likely will, appeal, but let’s assume he doesn’t. As a first step, COPA would seek injunctive relief, which can restrain a party from certain behaviors, say, for instance, claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto.
It would also follow that such an outcome would affect the many other ongoing legal actions that Wright is embroiled in, which all hinge on him actually being Satoshi Nakamoto. Two of these cases are with the same judge presiding over the current trial, filed by Wright against a number of major crypto companies.
We can scarcely remember the world before Craig Wright started producing ever more spurious ‘evidence’ that he had invented Bitcoin, and it’s just possible that we might miss it in a weird kind of way when he stops.
But wait a second… What if, and it’s a big if, the judge decides that Wright’s sister seeing him wearing a ninja suit at age 19 is all the evidence he needs? It certainly isn’t the least plausible evidence he has heard. What would happen then?
Well all is not lost, for COPA, at least. Its case would then enter a second phase. As the Bitcoin whitepaper was originally published under the MIT open-source license, COPA would try to establish whether it falls within the terms of that license. If so then people would still have the right to publish it.
Which is all well and good, but we will also have to listen to Wright endlessly crowing about being Satoshi. So, no. We won’t miss that.
COPA will conclude its closing statements later today, with Wright’s legal team presenting straight after. COPA will then be given a chance to respond, before the judge retires to make a final decision.
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