The US Copyright Office has laid to rest much of the misinformation and false claims surrounding Craig Wright’s copyright registrations.

In an official statement sent to Micky via email, the US Copyright Office (USCO) confirmed what many in the crypto community have been saying since news of Wright’s copyright claims broke – that merely having a copyright claim does not mean that the US government recognizes and supports that claim.

“As a general rule, when the Copyright Office receives an application for registration, the claimant certifies as to the truth of the statements made in the submitted materials. The Copyright Office does not investigate the truth of any statement made,” the statement reads.

No love from the US government

A press release published yesterday on a crypto blog owned by Wright’s partner, Calvin Ayre, asserted that “the registrations issued by the U.S. Copyright Office recognize Wright as the author – under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto – of both the white paper and code.”

It also claimed that “This is the first government agency recognition of Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.”

Both statements are patently false.

According to the USCO’s statement, when a person (claimant) submits an application for registration, they are certifying that the information they provide on the application is correct and truthful.

However, the agency stresses that “[the] Copyright Office does not investigate the truth of any statement made.”

Speaking directly to Wright’s copyright claims, the USCO stated:

“In the case of the two registrations issued to Mr. Wright, during the examination process, the Office took note of the well-known pseudonym ‘Satoshi Nakamoto,’ and asked the applicant to confirm that Craig Steven Wright was the author and claimant of the works being registered. Mr. Wright made that confirmation. This correspondence is part of the public registration record.”

It does not say that the USCO investigated his claim or that it had determined that he was telling the truth.

In fact, it said the exact opposite:

“A registration represents a claim to an interest in a work protected by copyright law, not a determination of the truth of the claims therein.”

‘Faketoshi’ or Satoshi?

As far as Wright’s claim to being the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, the statement noted that “[in] a case in which a work is registered under a pseudonym, the Copyright Office does not investigate whether there is a provable connection between the claimant and the pseudonymous author.”

In other words, the US Copyright Office does not verify the identities of applicants – it merely asks them to attest that the information they provide in the application is truthful.

A petition set up on Change.org earlier today calling to have Wright’s name removed from the Bitcoin whitepaper copyright and has already gathered 593 signatures.