Craig Wright Filed 114 Blockchain-Related Patents Since 2017: TNX Report

A new report published by The Next Web (TNW) is in the digital currency news, showing that Craig Wright, who is an Australian computer scientist and a lot of times connected to the alias of the Bitcoin creator ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ – has reportedly applied for more than a hundred blockchain related patents since 2017.

According to TNW’s report, since August 2017, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has published 155 patent applications filed by Craig Wright. According to the US Patent and Trademark Office, the WIPO publishes patent applications in order to notify the public that there is a potential new technology in some industries and/or spaces.

Wright will not only gain the control over the patents’ concerns if they are formally awarded by the WIPO – The Next Web (TNW) has also reported that WIPO awards a patent if it deems it sufficiently innovative.

The term “blockchain” was used in patent titles 114 times, while “cryptocurrency” was only mentioned six times. Similarly, “Bitcoin” was never mentioned. There were some references to smart contracts and digital assets too.

Some people even argued that Wright is “a patent troll” who is attempting to amass the blockchain-related patents and not actually use them but extract rents from companies that want to apply the technology.

According to Marc Kaufman who is an attorney co-chairing the Blockchain Intellectual Property Council at the U.S. Chamber of Digital Commerce – and his comments shared to Fortune:

“His tactics and activities have all the marks of being a patent assertion entity or what’s pejoratively known as a troll. I’m not aware of his companies having any products.”

In 2018, Wright was sued for $4 billion when the estate of David Kleiman who was a cyber-security expert (dubbed among the Bitcoin and blockchain tech developers) claimed that Wright stole billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin (BTC).

According to the suing process that Kleiman initiated, Wright recognized that the family was unaware of Kleiman’s wealth and therefore “forged a series of contracts that purported to transfer Dave’s assets to Craig and/or companies controlled by him. Craig backdated these contracts and forged Dave’s signature on them.”