Craig Wright is one of the most active as well as controversial names when it comes to the world of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology. Among the long list of controversies he is involved in, he is often in the news for claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. Interestingly, since 2017, Craig Wright has filed 114 blockchain-related patents!

Reports from The Next Web pointed out that World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has published over 150 patents issued by Craig Wright. Out of these, 114 patent titles mention the word blockchain. The WIPO functions quite similarly to the United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) - it publishes online all the patents it receives. 

Interestingly, while there are 114 patents mentioning blockchain in their title, the word ‘cryptocurrency’ appears only six times! Interestingly, Bitcoin appears zero times. There were some patents which had ‘smart contracts’ and ‘digital assets’ in their titles. As of now these patents have been filed by Wright but not all of them have been approved. 

Some in the industry have called Craig Wright a ‘Patent Troll’ stating that he files patents not to use them - but to sue other firms who develop similar technologies. Marc Kaufman of the Blockchain Intellectual Property Council at the U.S. Chamber of Digital Commerce commented on Wright’s patents, saying:

“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.”

Over the years, Wright has been involved in numerous cryptocurrency and blockchain related controversies. Most recently, he was sued by the estate of David Kleiman, stating that Wright stole Bitcoin worth billions of dollars from Kleiman. Furthermore, he was also involved in a controversy last year where he was accused of plagiarism! 

Stay tuned with us for more news stories and updates from the world of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology!