After a protracted battle with record labels, file sharing site Megaupload — regarded by some as a haven for piracy — has been taken down by the US Department of Justice with a number of high-profile arrests of Megaupload employees. We're tracking the full saga right here.
Megaupload's legal battle with labels and the DOJ: the full story
Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom released on bail in New Zealand, not allowed to use the internet
A little over a month has passed since Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom was jailed in New Zealand on charges filed by the US Department of Justice, but now he's surprisingly been freed on bail. A New Zealand judge has decided that it was "very unlikely" that Dotcom had sufficient funds to flee or go into hiding after his main assets had been seized — apparently, four bank accounts were discovered in the Philippines, but they were all empty. While US prosecutors said that it was likely Dotcom...
Additional charges filed against Megaupload and Kim Dotcom in piracy case
New charges were filed Thursday in the case against Megaupload and its co-founder Kim Dotcom, expanding the scope of the accusations and providing additional details that could hamper Megaupload's defense. The nine additional charges add wire fraud to the mix, bringing the total number of allegations against the company to fourteen. Megaupload is now also directly accused of reproducing content from outside sites — including YouTube — and making it available for download. It's a notable...
Megaupload user data safe, for two more weeks
Federal prosecutors said that data from users of Megaupload could be obliterated as soon as Thursday, February 2nd, but now it looks like the data has been temporarily escorted away from the chopping block: CNET reports that hosting firms Cogent Communications and Carpathia Hosting have agreed to hold onto the data for a minimum of two weeks, according to Megaupload's attorney, Ira Rothken. He says that "the hosting companies have been gracious enough to provide additional time so we can work...
FBI used Megaupload Skype conversations to build its case
The FBI reportedly used private Skype IM conversations that it intercepted as a basis for its case against Megaupload, but what isn't clear is how exactly the FBI acquired these conversations. The US Department of Justice told CNET that the evidence was obtained through search warrants, and Skype was not asked to turn over any information to the FBI. According to its privacy policy, Skype only holds data for 30 days, while some of the conversations that the FBI had access to go back up to...
Extradition request for Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom to be filed on February 22nd
Last week, there was a flurry of news surrounding the New Zealand arrest of several high-ranking Megaupload employees (including founder Kim Dotcom) and the subsequent shutdown of Megaupload's server. Now, we're entering the long, drawn-out legal wrangling that typically accompany a major case such as this, with the first step being Kim Dotcom's extradition to the US. According to a Reuters report, this won't be a simple matter: after being denied bail, Dotcom will be under custody until at...
RapidShare and Megaupload attorneys draw defensive comparisons to Dropbox, YouTube
It's been less than a week since Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom was arrested and the file-sharing site seized, and we've already seen a wave of reaction, with one competitor disabling its own sharing functionality and hacker group Anonymous attacking the RIAA, Universal Music Group, and others. Now it's time for the PR battle, with attorneys from RapidShare and Megaupload using comparisons to services like iCloud and YouTube to defend their respective sites in two recent interviews.
Speaking...
Megaupload case begins: Kim Dotcom requests bail, police raid detailed
The beginning of the cases against Megaupload is upon us, with a bail hearing in New Zealand. In it, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom's lawyer requested bail, arguing that he was not a flight risk and said he was innocent: "Mr Dotcom emphatically denies any criminal misconduct or wrongdoing, and denies the existence of a Mega Conspiracy."
During the trial, the defense and state also engaged in a back and forth over the circumstances of Dotcom's arrest after a police raid on his mansion....
In wake of Megaupload arrests, FileSonic shutters file-sharing service
In an apparent reaction to the US Department of Justice's seizure of Megaupload's assets, FileSonic has disabled its own file-sharing functionality. The site previously offered storage and sharing services similar to the now-defunct Megaupload, but its front page currently reads, "All sharing functionality on FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally." Other than that banner, FileSonic's been quiet on the subject;...
Megaupload dismisses Universal from takedown suit, continues case against others?
The Hollywood Reporter is today claiming that Megaupload has dropped Universal Music Group from the unlawful takedown lawsuit filed last month after its celebrity-laden endorsement video was yanked from YouTube. Still, this doesn't mean things are settled just yet; Megaupload's lawyers are believed to be continuing the case against several anonymous "John Doe" parties directly involved in the removal process. Further, the company seems to be less than enthralled with Google's cooperation in...
Anonymous claims DOJ and record label site takedowns in response to Megaupload suit
By all appearances, hacker group Anonymous isn't too happy with the Department of Justice's move to take down file sharing site Megaupload today, because it's now claiming that it's knocked the DOJ's site off the internet — and for what it's worth, we're not able to load it. Likewise for Universal Music, one of the labels most directly opposed to Megaupload's existence, along with the RIAA's and MPAA's websites. Anonymous is apparently saying that there's "more to come," so it would seem...
Justice Department calls Megaupload an 'international organized criminal enterprise,' founder Kim Dotcom arrested in New Zealand
The United States Justice Department filed charges against Megaupload today, calling the file-sharing service an "international organized criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy." Founder Kim Dotcom and three Megaupload executives were arrested today in Auckland, New Zealand at the request of the US government under provisional arrest warrants, and the DOJ describes three other execs as "at large."
The complaint alleges that Megaupload, founder Kim...
Universal has a backdoor into YouTube's CMS, set it to automatically remove Megaupload music video (update)
Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we all had it wrong. When Universal Music Group censored Megaupload's star-studded promo video, it didn't send a DMCA request at all — rather, the company reached right into YouTube's content management system (CMS) and removed the video all by itself. According to a letter from UMG's lawyers, the music label has a special agreement with YouTube that allows it to directly remove content even when it doesn't infringe a copyright it holds, and they claim...
Universal has 'Tech News Today' episode yanked from YouTube for reporting on MegaUpload promo video
We're still not sure what to make of the strange war that's erupted between file sharing service MegaUpload and Universal Media Group after MegaUpload posted a promo video that appears to feature Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and others, but we do know that it's starting to leave some ugly collateral damage: Universal had Monday's episode of Tech News Today pulled off of YouTube for simply reporting on the controversy. Host Tom Merritt and crew played two clips of the "Mega Song" video while...
Megaupload song artists 'never consented to being portrayed in this video' — Universal
It looks like Kim Dotcom's arguments might not have been as watertight as he insisted: Universal Music Group has released a statement saying that some of the artists featured in the I Use Megaupload video didn't consent to their image being used. The Megaupload founder succeeded in his original plea to YouTube to have the video reinstated, only for UMG to issue another DMCA takedown notice leading to the video vanishing again. Megaupload has since filed a lawsuit against UMG for...
Megaupload's promotional music video unfairly pulled by UMG, says founder
Like most people, we look to Kim Kardashian and Kanye when choosing digital file sharing services. Unfortunately, Megaupload's new promotional music video featuring the pair has been pulled by YouTube in what the company is characterizing as an abuse of power by Universal Music Group. Megaupload's colorful founder Kim Dotcom commissioned the original song and video, which features celebrities like West, will.i.am, and Jamie Foxx rapping their love for the service, as part of a new promotional...
