U.S. Shuts Down MegaUpload, Charges Kim Dotcom, 6 Others With Piracy
The U.S. Justice Department has charged seven individuals connected to the file-sharing site Megaupload.com, accusing them of a “massive worldwide online piracy” scheme that costed more than $500 million in damages and generated more than $175 million in profits, according to a Justice Department release Thursday.
The ring is allegedly led by Kim Dotcom, aka Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, a 37-year-old who is a resident of Hong Kong and New Zealand. Dotcom was arrested today in New Zealand along with associates Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk. Kim Dotcom is German-born entrepreneur who has reportedly been convicted of credit card fraud. Three other associates are at-large.
The main site, Megaupload.com which has been shut down, is accused of infringing on copyright by distributing movies, television shows, books and software even before their release dates. The companies Megaupload Limited and Vestor Limited are accused of having a business model “expressly designed to promote uploading of the most popular copyrighted works for many millions of users to download.” The site provided financial incentives for uploading popular content, the indictment charges.
The 7 individuals were indicted by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on January 5 and charged with racketeering conspiracy and conspiring to commit copyright infringement, among other charges. Each person faces up to 55 years in prison.
The interest in this case is likely to be high as interest in SOPA has been at a fever pitch in recent days.
More on this to come soon.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomioge...load-charges-kim-dotcom-6-others-with-piracy/
The U.S. Justice Department has charged seven individuals connected to the file-sharing site Megaupload.com, accusing them of a “massive worldwide online piracy” scheme that costed more than $500 million in damages and generated more than $175 million in profits, according to a Justice Department release Thursday.
The ring is allegedly led by Kim Dotcom, aka Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, a 37-year-old who is a resident of Hong Kong and New Zealand. Dotcom was arrested today in New Zealand along with associates Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk. Kim Dotcom is German-born entrepreneur who has reportedly been convicted of credit card fraud. Three other associates are at-large.
The main site, Megaupload.com which has been shut down, is accused of infringing on copyright by distributing movies, television shows, books and software even before their release dates. The companies Megaupload Limited and Vestor Limited are accused of having a business model “expressly designed to promote uploading of the most popular copyrighted works for many millions of users to download.” The site provided financial incentives for uploading popular content, the indictment charges.
The 7 individuals were indicted by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on January 5 and charged with racketeering conspiracy and conspiring to commit copyright infringement, among other charges. Each person faces up to 55 years in prison.
The interest in this case is likely to be high as interest in SOPA has been at a fever pitch in recent days.
More on this to come soon.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomioge...load-charges-kim-dotcom-6-others-with-piracy/
