In a significant legal setback for Craig Wright, the UK Supreme Court has refused to permit an appeal in his defamation case against Bitcoin podcaster Peter McCormack. Wright, who has claimed to be the enigmatic Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, was previously awarded a mere 1 GBP in damages—a decision he sought to overturn.

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• UK Supreme Court upholds the ruling, denying Craig Wright’s appeal in the libel case against Bitcoin podcaster Peter McCormack, leaving the nominal 1 GBP damages intact.
• Wright’s claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous Bitcoin inventor, remains contested as legal battles continue over his alleged copyright to Bitcoin’s intellectual property.
• The Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) dismisses Wright’s settlement offer in a separate legal case, citing deceptive terms and potential for further litigation.

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UK Supreme Court Rejects Craig Wright’s Appeal in Defamation Suit Against Podcaster

The apex court’s judgement was succinct, stating the appeal was dismissed because it “does not raise an arguable question of law,” effectively upholding the ruling made by a lower court in July. This earlier judgement found that Wright was entitled to only nominal damages in his libel action against McCormack, who had contested Wright’s assertion of being the digital currency’s originator.

Rupert Cowper-Coles, a partner at RPC law firm, disclosed the latest decision, which represents McCormack. Cowper-Coles told CoinDesk, “We only just found out about it, but it was at the end of last year that the Supreme Court refused permission for Craig Wright’s appeal.” He expressed contentment that the initial ruling in favour of McCormack remains in place, despite Wright’s repeated failed attempts to appeal.

CoinDesk made efforts to reach out to Wright’s legal representatives at Shoosmiths, as well as McCormack, for comment, but they had yet to respond by the time of publication.

This is triggered by a coincidence between the reports about the Supreme Court judgment and the significantly high operation in another misdemeanour action concerning Wright. He has criticized numerous crypto firms and Bitcoin developers for violating his alleged rights over the technical description of Bitcoin’s work technology. A proposed settlement in this matter was outright rejected by the involved parties, including the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA), which represents the interests of 13 Bitcoin Core developers and companies like Coinbase and Block. COPA has openly criticised the settlement offer as deceptive and fraught with potential legal pitfalls.

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