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How piracy built the U.S. publishing industry

For decades, the U.S. government turned a blind eye to the pirating of intellectual property--and the practice helped some of the country's largest book publishers make their fortunes.

I've written a lot lately about the U.S. government's attempt to protect the country's intellectual property against overseas-based online pirates, nowhere more forcefully than in the case of MegaUpload. Last month, the U.S. government indicted Kim DotCom, MegaUpload's founder, on criminal copyright charges. He was arrested in New Zealand and U.S. officials will attempt to bring him to this country to stand trial. … Read more

U.S. wants Kim DotCom back in jail

MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom could be headed back to jail.

Authorities in New Zealand are expected to appeal last week's decision to release DotCom on bail, according to TVNZ. The U.S. government alleges that DotCom was operating MegaUpload as one of the Web's biggest criminal copyright operations and indicted him last month. He was arrested on January 19 and since then has remained in police custody.

We're certainly getting a lesson in the Kiwi legal system and this much is clear: their wheels of justice grind just as slowly or slower than ours. The MegaUpload piracy … Read more

MegaUpload founder released on bail

Kim DotCom, founder of cyberlocker MegaUpload, has been released on bail, according to media reports out of New Zealand.

After DotCom was indicted in the United States for criminal copyright violations and racketeering, he was arrested last month at the mansion he leases near Auckland, New Zealand, following a sensational police raid. Millions in cash, cars, and other possessions belonging to DotCom were seized.

Since then, two judges in New Zealand had denied his previous requests for bail. The judge who heard DotCom's request today, however, decided the defendant was not enough of a flight risk to keep in … Read more

No extradition showdown for MegaUpload this week

All the build up to an extradition hearing in the MegaUpload case was supposed to culminate with a court fight today in New Zealand.

But all we get is another bail hearing involving Kim DotCom, MegaUpload's founder, according to U.S officials (Update" DotCom was released on bail). A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, told CNET that its lawyers have yet to file extradition paperwork with the New Zealand court and have until March 2 to do so. It's unclear how long after the paperwork is filed that … Read more

Police seize MegaUpload founder's New Zealand home

The $4.3 million New Zealand home owned by MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom was seized by police in that country today, according to published reports.

The home seized was not the grand $25 million mansion where the MegaUpload founder was living and had leased prior to his January 19 arrest by more than 70 police officers. He was prevented from buying that larger home because he failed to pass the "good character test" required for foreigners to buy property in New Zealand, numerous publications in that country are reporting tonight.

But DotCom, who the United States has accused … Read more

Guns, body armor, and raids: The piracy fight gets dangerous

Semi-automatic shotguns, body armor, and accusations of police brutality and acts of terrorism are common in stories about Mexico's drug wars or the fighting in Afghanistan.

So what are those terms doing in technology stories about copyright and online file sharing? A recent arrest of MegaUpload's founder by 70 armed police officers as well as cyber attacks on media executives and government officials by Anonymous indicates that the gloves have come off in the copyright conflict.

Against this backdrop, BTJunkie, one of the top BitTorrent index sites, has decided to shut down. BTJunkie posted a note on its … Read more

Bail denied again for MegaUpload's Kim DotCom

Kim DotCom, the colorful and controversial founder of cyberlocker service MegaUpload, must remain in police custody for at least three more weeks, a New Zealand court decided today.

DotCom, 38, and a half dozen of MegaUpload's managers are accused in the United States of criminal copyright violations, money laundering, and racketeering. According to the indictment filed against them in Virginia, the government alleges that MegaUpload was a criminal enterprise that banked more than $175 million by helping the masses pirate films, music, software, and videogames.

At the request of the FBI, DotCom and three other MegaUpload employees were arrested … Read more

Mystery and mayhem surrounding MegaUpload (roundup)

Charges of Web piracy are at the center of a legal battle embroiling the hosting site MegaUpload and its founder, the colorful Kim DotCom. Hackers get into the fray, too, early on.

Bail denied again for MegaUpload's Kim DotCom The founder of the cyberlocker service will remain in jail at least until his extradition hearing is held on Feb. 22. MegaUpload founder: Police punched and kicked me (Posted in Media Maverick by Greg Sandoval) February 3, 2012 3:22 a.m. PT

Nobody wanted MegaUpload busted more than MPAA All the recent talk that the FBI cracked down on … Read more

MegaUpload founder: Police punched and kicked me

Kim DotCom, the flamboyant founder of cyberlocker service MegaUpload, said in a New Zealand court today that he had been the victim of police brutality, according to published reports.

DotCom was arrested on January 19 at his home near Auckland, New Zealand, by more than 70 police officers who swooped in by helicopter and began pounding on the door. DotCom is allegedly the mastermind behind a criminal piracy operation that caused more than $500 million in damages to copyright owners. They assert that MegaUpload's managers pocketed more than $175 million by enabling people across the globe to store and … Read more

Nobody wanted MegaUpload busted more than MPAA

Contrary to recent media reports, the FBI did not arrest MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom after being pressured by managers at the four major record companies, who supposedly feared DotCom would launch an unlicensed music service, sources close to the investigation told CNET.

Numerous film and music industry sources have discussed some of the events that preceded the January 19 raid in New Zealand on DotCom's home. What becomes clear is that two years ago, when the FBI began investigating the cyberlocker service, the film studios were far more intent on taking down MegaUpload than their counterparts at the music … Read more