The unfolding drama surrounding the possession of this Bitcoin (BTC) whitepaper could very well make its way into the courts, after both sides embroiled in the dispute advised Cointelegraph they're ready to"go all the way."
On Jan. 21, the proprietors of 2 Bitcoin websites were threatened with legal actions by attorneys representing Craig Wright, the man who claims to be Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto. Wright asserts to be the first copyright holder of their Bitcoin whitepaper, also demanded that both websites remove their locally hosted copies of the document on threat of legal actions.
However, the owner of Bitcoin.org, which was also targeted at Wright, has so far refused to remove the whitepaper, and stated he has no intention of doing this.
Talking exclusively to Cointelegraph, the pseudonymous programmer known as Cobra said he would be inclined to defend himself in court should legal proceedings be brought against him.
"No legal proceedings have really started, but we are prepared to go all the way and shield ourselves if it comes down to it"
Ed Pownall of CoinGeek, who has spoken on behalf of Craig Wright Previously, told Cointelegraph the Cobra and many others who refused to honor had 4 options before them:
"Do not respond and do nothing: This will result in Craig issuing court proceeding against them for copyright infringement"
"Respond to our own letters and inform us where to proceed: as above"
"Respond to our letters telling us they're taking down the WP / the publications of the WP in their sites, and they actually do so: no action to take against them"
"Don't respond to our letters but nevertheless take down the WP / the books of the WP from their websites: according to 3"
When presented on this 4-point ultimatum from Wright's group, Cobra's answer was blunt, appearing to signal a preference for option number 1. He explained:
"Seems just like what I thought, and we are going to just not respond, f*** them."
Pownall stated that should Cobra fail to respond to legal proceedings, Wright's counsel will be eager to apply to the courts to get a default decision, in which a defendant who fails to respond or provide a defence is judged without any trial.
In this instance, Buterin just didn't respond to the letter and also the deadline finally ran out.