mega

Feds: MegaUpload was not entrapped

Entrapment is one of MegaUpload's claims in its legal battle against the U.S. government. The feds are now saying this claim is "baseless."

"Megaupload's allegations are baseless, as even a cursory review of Megaupload's pleading and the search warrant materials at issue disproves the allegation that the government misled the court as part of a conspiracy to entrap Megaupload," the government wrote in a Friday filing (PDF).

MegaUpload, which was founded by Kim DotCom, is the highest-profile service to be accused of criminal copyright violations by the U.S. government -- and … Read more

DotCom promises splashy launch for Mega

Kim DotCom, the New Zealand-based entrepreneur, is up to his old tricks again.

In a ploy to promote the launch of the Mega cloud storage service, DotCom has taken to Twitter to promise a "press conference like no other."

The press conference will take place at DotCom's mansion, so we should probably expect the extravagant entrepreneur to lay on quite the show. Reportedly worth $30 million, the property comes complete with a fleet of vintage cars, customized shotguns and even an inflatable tank or two.

The founder of MegaUpload also mentions on his Twitter feed that he … Read more

Digital entertainment in 2013: Five predictions

How much stock can you put in the many predictions being made for the tech sector in the new year?

Well, here's my record as a tea-leaf reader from last year: 1-for-2 on the major picks. That's right, I was wrong -- dead wrong -- when I said the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) would pass. Going into 2012, the entertainment sector appeared to have all the congressional support it needed to pass the legislation designed to make it easier for federal authorities to shut down accused pirate sites. The reason the defeat of the bill was such … Read more

Web media: The 5 biggest stories of 2012

Fun, fun, fun!

That's what digital movies, music, and books are supposed to be about. But for the people who create and sell the stuff, it's been all crumbs, crumbs, crumbs.

The past year was another tough one for the sale of entertainment media on the Web. The irony is that as more entertainment fare is sold online, the less profitable the businesses become.

Few, if any, online music services are profitable. In Web movie distribution, download sales are dismal. Even Netflix, the Web's top video rental service, saw a slow down in the rate it added … Read more

MegaUpload's DotCom gets a peek at government spy records

In what looks like another blow in the U.S. case against MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom, New Zealand's spy agency is forced to turn over records of its illegal surveillance and raid of DotCom's home.

According to Reuters, New Zealand's high court ordered the agency to reveal the records to DotCom, which could possibly aid him in his battle to fight U.S. extradition. The court also ruled that DotCom and his company managers could seek damages from the government because of the agency's unlawful actions.

DotCom's saga has played out over the past year … Read more

MegaUpload extradition hearing 'likely' delayed to July

From the start, the MegaUpload case promised to be one of those long-running courtroom fights -- and that's exactly what it is turning into.

Anne Toohey, a lawyer working for the commissioner of police in New Zealand, said in court today that there is a "high likelihood" that the extradition hearing to determine whether MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom and several other company managers can be extradited to the United States will be delayed until July, according to a report by MSN in New Zealand.

If postponed, it will mark the second time the case has been pushed … Read more

Obama may have talked Kim DotCom with New Zealand PM

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said today he took up some issues important to his country in a private conversation with President Barack Obama and one of the topics may have been about the MegaUpload case.

The impromptu discussion occurred today prior to a meeting at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, according to several New Zealand publications. Key confirmed that he brought up the fighting in Gaza but when asked whether he and Obama talked about MegaUpload, the cloud-storage service accused by the United States of criminal copyright violations, Key said he couldn't discuss it.

New Zealand'… Read more

U.S. judge in MegaUpload case partially unseals search warrant

A federal judge has partially unsealed the warrant he issued that allowed MegaUpload's domain names to be seized.

The documents had been under seal since January, when the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia charged the company and managers, including founder Kim DotCom, with criminal copyright violations, money laundering, and wire fraud.

The search warrant offers very little new information about what kind of evidence the U.S. government possesses to support its case. But Ira Rothken, the Silicon Valley attorney who oversees MegaUpload's worldwide defense, says the document shows that U.S. officials misled … Read more

Kim DotCom: New Zealand will be home to new MegaUpload site

New Zealand appears to be embracing Kim DotCom and the service he's creating to replace MegaUpload.

DotCom announced on Twitter that his new cloud-storage service will use a New Zealand-based domain: Mega.co.nz. DotCom attempted to use a domain name from the West African country of Gabon, but that country's administration last week ordered that the domain, Me.ga, be suspended.

DotCom didn't waste time in finding a new domain name.

"New Zealand will be the home of our new website: Mega.co.nz," DotCom wrote, adding that the site will operate within the … Read more