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MegaUpload is loading up on high-profile lawyers.

The cyberlocker service has added Andrew Schapiro, the attorney who led the YouTube defense that won summary judgment in the video-sharing service's initial copyright trial against Viacom, MegaUpload attorney Ira Rothken told CNET today.

Schapiro is part of Los Angeles-based Quinn Emanuel Urguhart & Sullivan, which MegaUpload hired to represent the company against criminal copyright charges. Rothken is a well-known Silicon Valley lawyer and the man who is also leading MegaUpload's worldwide defense.

Rothken called Quinn Emanuel "one of the best law firms in the country."

The United States alleges that MegaUpload's leadership, … Read more

Blame MegaUpload, if you stored legal documents on the cyberlocker service and now may not be allowed to retrieve them, according to the U.S. government.

Neil MacBride, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia who in January shut down MegaUpload, after accusing founder Kim DotCom and six other company managers of criminal copyright violations, asked a federal court in documents filed last night to deny a request for a protective order filed by Carpathia Hosting, which houses MegaUpload's user data.

Carpathia wants the court to help pay the costs of preserving MegaUpload's data, which … Read more

The trade group for the top Hollywood film studios told a federal court that it opposes any plan that would allow MegaUpload to buy back its servers.

That unyielding stance position could hurt MegaUpload's efforts to retrieve its servers, which company lawyer Ira Rothken said it needs to defend itself. In January, the United States filed criminal copyright charges against the cyberlocker service, founder Kim DotCom and other managers. DotCom and six others are expected to fight U.S. attempts to extradite them to this country.

The Motion Picture Association of America laid out its position in an 8-page … Read more

NEW YORK -- In the wake of the MegaUpload indictment, the top Hollywood film studios are pushing for more cyberlocker services to be charged with crimes.

"We continue to make criminal referrals," Alfred Perry, vice president for worldwide content protection at Paramount Pictures, said during a panel discussion at the On Copyright conference here yesterday. Later he added that "more than 41 billion page views (yearly) are generated by the top 5 rogue cyberlocker services. That's five page views for every person on the planet."

After the panel, Perry provided CNET with the names of … Read more

The U.S. government has refused to allow the MegaUpload defendants access to information on their servers, which in turn is impeding their ability to defend themselves, the company's lawyer told CNET.

Ira Rothken, the U.S. attorney overseeing MegaUpload's international defense team, said the U.S. has refused to release funds that would enable MegaUpload to preserve and gather materials from company servers vital to its defense. Rothken said that he fears U.S. officials are withholding the money in an attempt to unfairly hobble MegaUpload's defense.

"It's hard to reconcile the chain of … Read more

The cost of hosting 25 petabytes of data belonging to MegaUpload's users is too much for Carpathia Hosting to support on its own.

Carpathia said in court filings on Tuesday that the company is dedicating 1,100 servers and spending $9,000 a day to maintain MegaUpload's files and needs someone to either fork over some money or allow the company to delete the information, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The data was frozen by the U.S. Department of Justice after issuing an indictment against MegaUpload's operators, including founder Kim DotCom in January. … Read more

New Zealand has decided to return some of the assets it seized from MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom, according to reports.

A high court there has bumped up the accused pirate's monthly living allowance from $20,000 in New Zealand currency to $60,000, the equivalent of $48,500 in U.S. currency, according to a report in the New Zealand Herald. In addition, the court is allowing him the use of one of his late-model Mercedes vehicles.

Police arrested DotCom at the mansion he lived in outside Auckland on January 19 at the request of the United States government. … Read more

Authorities in New Zealand have acknowledged making a procedural error prior in seizing property belonging to MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom, and the mistake could mean the government will now be required to return them.

Police arrested DotCom at the mansion he lived in outside Auckland on January 19 at the request of the United States government. The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that DotCom is the mastermind of a criminal enterprise designed to help the masses pirate music and movies. U.S. officials say he made millions from piracy and seek to extradite DotCom to this country to stand … Read more

MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom has six months to try and create the image of himself as a legitimate businessman as well as a victim of U.S. aggression.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which has accused him of criminal copyright violations, wire fraud, and racketeering, will seek to create the perception that DotCom is a digital Genghis Khan, a convicted felon who has dedicated most of his adult life to plunder.

For DotCom, 38, and the DOJ, the public relations war is on.

In January, New Zealand police, at the request of the United States, raided DotCom's home, … Read more