Mr Justice Mellor delivered his judgment on 20th May 2024 following the six week long trial in COPA v Wright.
After stunning the Court on the last day of trial by declaring immediately that ‘the evidence was overwhelming’ that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, Mr Justice Mellor has now delivered an excoriating 1736 paragraph judgment, dissecting Wright’s claims one by one. His conclusion is blunt:
“Dr Wright’s attempts to prove he was/is Satoshi Nakamoto represent a most serious abuse of this Court’s process… It is clear that Dr Wright engaged in the deliberate production of false documents to support false claims and use the Courts as a vehicle for fraud. Despite acknowledging in this Trial that a few documents were inauthentic (generally blamed on others), he steadfastly refused to acknowledge any of the forged documents. Instead, he lied repeatedly and extensively in his attempts to deflect the allegations of forgery.”
Wright had attempted to exert control over the cryptocurrency ecosystem through the assertion of IP rights against developers and others, and by bringing defamation claims against bloggers and journalists who questioned his claimed identity. His long-running campaign of threats and litigation is now at an end.
Phil Sherrell, partner at Bird & Bird who successfully acted for COPA said, “Today’s judgment is a devastating blow for Craig Wright, whose fraudulent claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto - the creator of Bitcoin - has been comprehensively demolished by Mr Justice Mellor. We are incredibly proud to have played our part in bringing certainty to the cryptocurrency community, who can now continue to innovate safe in the knowledge that Wright will no longer be able to threaten them with claims to own IP in the building blocks of cryptocurrencies.”
