The five-week trial concerning issues including the identity of the inventor of Bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto has concluded with a surprise ruling by the judge, Mr Justice Mellor.
The case is between Dr Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist, and the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) and other parties.
According to news reports, following the closing arguments on 14 March 2024, Mellor J said "Dr Wright is not the person who adopted or operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto” and: "Dr Wright is not the person who created the Bitcoin system."
He said that he was able to reach this conclusion because the “evidence was overwhelming”.
What does this mean for crypto?
It is relatively unusual for judges to give a decision immediately in complex technology cases, which suggests that Mellor J was in no doubt about the outcome of this issue.
However, the full impact of this judgment remains to be seen as we will have to wait until his full judgment is published to see his reasoning and his conclusions on the various other issues raised in the litigation. Hopefully the judgment will be published later this year.
To find out more about the issues raised in this blog contact Rosie Burbidge, Intellectual Property Partner at Gunnercooke LLP in London - rosie.burbidge@gunnercooke.com