mega

Vice President Joe Biden did not orchestrate the criminal case against MegaUpload, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Kim DotCom, the founder of MegaUpload, a cloud storage service accused of trafficking in pirated materials, said this week that he has proof Biden ordered the prosecution against him and six other MegaUpload managers.

"There was no White House involvement in the decision to charge this case," the office of Neil MacBride, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, wrote in an brief e-mail to CNET. MacBride is the federal prosecutor who filed a criminal … Read more

The film industry is laughing at allegations made by Kim DotCom, the founder of accused pirate site MegaUpload.

DotCom claims leaders from the major Hollywood studios gathered last June in Washington to discuss MegaUpload with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

In an interview with TorrentFreak on Tuesday, DotCom produced White House records that showed some of the chiefs of the six largest film studios, including Brad Grey, CEO of Paramount Pictures, and Ron Meyer of Universal Studios, met with Biden at the White House on July 27, 2011. He noted that also in attendance was Mike Ellis, an executive … Read more

MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom, a man indicted by the U.S. government for criminal copyright violations, conspiracy, money laundering and wire fraud, alleges that Vice President Joe Biden ordered a U.S. Attorney to pursue its aggressive case against him and his company.

If true, that shouldn't come as a big surprise to even the most casual follower of the antipiracy debate. (DotCom cited no evidence for his claim, telling the site TorrentFreak only that a "credible source" informed him Biden ordered the crackdown.)

Whether or not Biden was involved -- and my sources say he wasn'… Read more

The big news today on the antipiracy front is that a New Zealand court has ruled that police enforced illegal search warrants when they seized the assets of MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom.

What hasn't been made clear in the initial press reports is that this is not a final victory. Far from it. The ruling as it stands today does not impact DotCom's extradition hearing on August 6 or the charges facing him in the United States, according to legal experts. A hearing on the MegaUpload case is scheduled for tomorrow in U.S. District Court.

On January … Read more

The U.S. piracy case against MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom appears to have run aground, with a New Zealand court ruling that the search warrants issued in January were invalid.

New Zealand High Court Judge Helen Winkelmann ruled Thursday that the warrants did not adequately describe the offenses alleged, according to a report in the New Zealand Herald. "Indeed they fell well short of that," she said. "They were general warrants, and as such, are invalid.''

She also ruled that it was unlawful for the data confiscated in the raid to have been sent offshore, saying "… Read more

Kevin Mitnick can certainly empathize with Kim DotCom.

Mitnick, one of the best-known computer hackers of all time, knows what it is to be hunted by the American government and to face jail time as a result. That may be why Mitnick cheered DotCom on via Twitter.

DotCom, the founder of cloud-storage service MegaUpload is trying to fend off attempts by U.S. officials to extradite him from New Zealand and try him on various charges, including criminal copyright violations and wire fraud.

"I hope you win," Mitnick wrote to DotCom last night. "I saw this on … Read more

In January, MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom was little more than antipiracy road kill.

Six months later, DotCom is making a comeback.

The United States accused MegaUpload, a once popular cloud storage locker, of being a massive piracy operation. Seven company managers, including DotCom were charged with criminal copyright violations, conspiracy, money laundering and wire fraud. The defendants denied wrongdoing but they seemed headed for long prison sentences.

A month after his arrest, DotCom was still locked up in jail. His assets had all been seized. His family had been booted out of his home. Since then, however, DotCom and some … Read more

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has come to the defense of MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom.

DotCom is accused by the United States of operating MegaUpload as a piracy enterprise and is fighting an attempt to extradite him from New Zealand to the U.S. (Here is an update about how DotCom's side has seized the momentum in the case.)

Last week, DotCom generated some press by posting a photo to the Web of himself and Wozniak standing together. But Wozniak had yet to comment about the photo or whether he believes DotCom is in the right.

In an exclusive e-mail … Read more

Kim DotCom has appeared to receive endorsements from a long list of celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys and Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas. Now, add the name Steve Wozniak.

During a trip to New Zealand last month, Wozniak stopped by DotCom's home outside Auckland and took several photographs with the MegaUpload founder who is also the man accused by the United States of criminal copyright violations, money laundering and wire fraud. The United States is trying to extradite DotCom and a hearing in New Zealand to decide the matter is scheduled for August.

Woz was … Read more