Entertainment Industry Was Eager to Work With Megaupload. Considering the aggressive stance taken by the MPAA against Megaupload, one might be forgiven for thinking the Hollywood-backed group and file-hosting service were sworn enemies.
But behind the scenes things were quite different, with companies including Disney, Warner Brothers and Fox courting Megaupload to set up content distribution and advertising deals. “By all estimates, Megaupload.com is the largest and most active criminally operated website targeting creative content in the world,” said the MPAA in a statement issued immediately after Mega was shutdown in January. As statements go, they don’t get much more harsh than that, so one might think that hostilities between Megaupload and the member companies of the MPAA are a long-standing thing. But as we know, despite all the rhetoric the likes of the usually-aggressive Disney never sued the Hong Kong based file-hosting service, and instead opted to let the FBI do their work for them. My name is Gregg Pendola. Thanks. Dear Megavideo, Hi. Megaupload Drops Mega Song Lawsuit to Focus on “Nonsense” US Charges. The troubled Megaupload will drop its lawsuit against Universal Music Group who allegedly deleted the immensely popular Mega Song from YouTube last December.
While the cyberlocker still believes the "sham takedown" was unlawful, Megaupload's lawyer informs TorrentFreak that they will focus their efforts on defending themselves against the US criminal charges and similar "copycat" suits. A month before its shutdown Megaupload pulled off one of the biggest file-sharing related marketing coups in recent memory. The file-hoster released a pro-Megaupload song featuring stars such as P Diddy, Will.i.am, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige, Kim Kardashian and even boxer Floyd Mayweather all publicly endorsing the site.
Kim Dotcom: The US Government is Wrong, Here’s Why. For a man who’s the main defendant in one of the biggest criminal cases ever brought in the US, Kim Dotcom is surprisingly composed.
The Megaupload founder is convinced of his innocence, and instead of letting fear or anger get to him, he is excited. Deep into the night, Dotcom digs through heaps of paperwork, collecting evidence that shows how he was framed by the US Government. Talking to TorrentFreak by phone, he gives example after example of why he thinks the indictment twists the truth. Google Defends Hotfile (and Megaupload) in Court. Google Amicus Brief PDF. Kim Dotcom: US Military Had 15,634 Megaupload Accounts. In recent weeks the battle has continued to save the data stored at the now-defunct site Megaupload.
Contrary to the image painted by the entertainment industries, untold numbers of people used the file-hosting service for completely legitimate sharing. Today we can reveal that not only did people at the Senate, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and NASA hold Megaupload accounts, so did more than 15,600 members of the US Military. Ever since Megaupload was dismantled in January there have been concerns about data being held on the site’s servers.
While the MPAA and RIAA insist that the site was simply a huge piracy hub, the facts point to a much bigger picture of people using the site for countless legitimate transfers of files simply too big to email. As mentioned earlier this month, Megaupload’s legal team is working hard to reunite site users with their data, an aim also shared by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) with their MegaRetrieval campaign. Megaupload's Innocent Users Deserve Their Data Back. San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today formally requested the preservation of the data seized when the U.S. government shut down Megaupload.com and related sites, notifying the court and attorneys involved in the case that Megaupload's innocent users deserve a fair process to control and retrieve their lawful material.
"The government knows that Megaupload had many customers who followed the law. Yet it gave those users no notice that their data was at risk and no information about how they might be able to eventually get that data back," said EFF Staff Attorney Julie Samuels. "Our client, and the many other innocent Megaupload users, are entitled to a clear process for obtaining access to their own property, and the first step is to make sure that property is not deleted or damaged until the court can sort this out. " "Megaupload's innocent users are entitled to access their property," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn.
MegaRetrieval. Police court order Dotwrong. Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom's cash, cars and property were seized using a court order which should never have been granted.
A judgment from Justice Judith Potter on Friday declared the restraining order "null and void" and having "no legal effect". Megaupload Seizure Order “Null and Void” Says High Court. In another astonishing development in the Megaupload saga, a judge in New Zealand's High Court has declared the order used to seize Kim Dotcom's assets as "null and void".
The blunder, which occurred because the police applied for the wrong type of court order, means that the Megaupload founder could have his property returned. Just when it seemed that the handling of the Megaupload case couldn’t get any more controversial, a development from New Zealand has taken things to the next level. Following the raids on Kim Dotcom’s mansion in January, police seized millions of dollars worth of property belonging to the Megaupload founder. But thanks to a police blunder, he could now see all of those assets returned.