New Zealand's Supreme Court to hear Dotcom extradition appeal

WELLINGTON - New Zealand' highest court on Thursday said it would hear an appeal from Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, who is attempting to overturn a lower court's ruling that he can be extradited to the United States to face racketeering and copyright charges.

The Supreme Court said it had jurisdiction over the appeal and granted leave for the case to proceed, according to a statement on the court's website.

The six-year legal saga is widely seen as a test for how far the United States can reach globally to apply American firms' intellectual property rights.

The Court of Appeal in July upheld a lower court ruling in 2017 that the extradition could take place.

U.S. authorities say Dotcom and three co-accused Megaupload executives cost film studios and record companies more than $500 million and generated more than $175 million in revenue by encouraging paying users to store and share copyrighted material.

"We are pleased that the New Zealand Supreme Court granted review of the U.S. extradition case against Kim Dotcom," said Dotcom's lawyer, Ira Rothken.

German-born Dotcom, who has New Zealand residency, became well known for his lavish lifestyle as much as his computer skills.

He used to post photographs of himself with cars and vanity licence plates such as "GOD" and "GUILTY", shooting an assault rifle and flying around the world in his private jet.

Dozens of black-clad police raided Dotcom's mansion in 2012, breaking him out of a safe room and confiscating millions of dollars in cash and property, including a fleet of luxury cars, computers and art work.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Megaupload founder now broke?

WELLINGTON - Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, one of the world's most wanted cyber fugitives, says his nearly three-year fight against extradition to the United States to face online piracy charges has left him broke.

Dotcom, the New Zealand resident who once flaunted a fleet of vintage cars, a fully staffed rented mansion and globe-trotting holidays, said that his wealth had evaporated due to mounting legal fees which had resulted in the departure of most of his legal team.

The German national is due in a New Zealand court on Thursday, when he may be remanded in prison for allegedly breaching his bail conditions ahead of his extradition hearing, which has been pushed back to mid-2015.

Dotcom, who also goes by the name of Kim Schmitz, stands accused of massive copyright infringement related to the Megaupload file sharing site he founded in 2005.

"My legal team has recently resigned because I ran out of money after spending $10 million to try and defend myself," Dotcom said on Tuesday, speaking via teleconference at a digital technology conference in London. "I'm officially broke right now."

Set up in 2005, Megaupload accounted for around 4 percent of total traffic on the Internet in its heyday as users stored and shared files containing everything from wedding videos to Hollywood films.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Meet Megaupload founder's pretty Filipina wife

MANILA, Philippines - Kim Dotcom, the controversial founder of file-sharing website Megaupload, over the weekend launched a new cyberlocker called Mega.co.nz with much publicity.



Dotcom, who is fighting extradition to the US on charges of internet piracy, says the new site allows users to control who can access uploaded files. This would mean that Mega would not have access to the files, which could strip them of any possible liability for enabling users to distribute pirated content.

Despite his legal problems, the multimillionaire has continued to be supported by his Filipina wife Mona. A Reuters photo showed Mona, wearing a red jacket and skirt, at the Mega launch at their mansion in Auckland, New Zealand on January 20.

The pretty Filipina is an ex-model who has been married to Dotcom for several years now.

On her Twitter account (@MonaDotcom), she tweeted about the Mega launch and her husband's birthday. "Happy Birthday to the BEST, most loving and sweet husband in the world!!! @KimDotcom So proud of you! I will always be your no.1 fan," she said.

Mona is also active on Instagram, where she posts photos of her family. One photo shows the Filipina with a white Birkin bag.

According to various news reports, Kim met Mona Verga in the Philippines in November 2007. They married in July 2009, a day after her 21st birthday They now have five children, including twin baby girls.

The Dotcom family lives in an estate just outside of Auckland, which was where Kim was arrested last year. New Zealand's elite special tactics forces arrived by helicopter on the mansion's grounds to arrest him on copyright charges.

During the raid, the police seized numerous items. The New Zealand Herald reported last May 2012 that Mona applied with the court for the return of her personal belongings, including a G55 Mercedes, Christian Colin sculptures, a Chanel diamond wristwatch and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch. She said these were gifts from her husband.

In a recent interview with Reuters, Kim admitted he and his wife still panic when they hear loud noises.

"Every time you hear a helicopter, you automatically think, 'Oh, another raid', so it's something that stays with you for a long time," he said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

US authorities hit Megaupload with more charges

WASHINGTON — The US authorities have filed additional copyright infringement and fraud charges against Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and other employees of the file-sharing site shut down last month.

The Justice Department said Friday that the new charges were added to the original indictment against Megaupload unsealed by a Virginia court on January 19.

The department said the superseding indictment also provides further evidence that Megaupload was engaged in massive piracy by facilitating downloads of copyrighted works.

While Megaupload claimed more than 180 million registered users, the site actually only had 66.6 million registered users, it said.

And of the total users, only 5.86 million had ever uploaded a single file to either Megaupload.com or Megavideo.com, the department said, demonstrating that more than 90 percent of Megaupload’s users only used the site to download.

The indictment also said that Megaupload never took action against one user, identified only as “VV,” who had been singled out as a repeat copyright infringer over a six-year period.

“VV” allegedly uploaded 16,950 files to Megavideo.com and Megaupload.com, which generated more than 34 million views, including copies of copyrighted movies such as “Ocean’s Thirteen,” “Ratatouille” and “Evan Almighty.”

“Internal records reflect no deletions of any of VV’s uploaded files,” the Justice Department said.

The superseding indictment also listed additional assets subject to forfeiture including property, bank accounts, jet skis, jewelry and watches.

According to the Justice Department, five of the seven people charged have been arrested, including Dotcom, who is being held in New Zealand, and at least $50 million in assets has been seized.

Megaupload is the most high-profile target to date of a US campaign which has seen the seizure of hundreds of sites accused of offering pirated music or movies or counterfeit goods.

source: interaksyon.com