Does the government have a responsibility to protect innocent third parties from collateral damage when it seizes their property in the course of prosecuting alleged copyright infringement? That is the question a US federal district court will consider next week in the latest skirmish in the legal battle between the US government and Megaupload.
Good news, people! Kim Dotcom — Megaupload founder and large guy who loves to live large — is recording a music album! According to his lawyer, Paul Davison, it’s part of a “musical project” that may produce some money for him.
When New Zealand authorities raided the estate of MegaUpload boss Kim Dotcom, they confiscated nearly $US200 million worth of property. But, as it turns out, the court order authorising this seizure was invalid because the police filled out the wrong paperwork. Oops.
Kim Dotcom may be many things — international playboy, car collector, ladies man — but as far as he’s concerned, a pirate he is not. In his eyes, he’s simply a man who offered a storage solution.
New Zealand news sources report that Megaupload co-founder Kim Dotcom was released on bail today almost exactly one month after he was arrested. The only catch is that he can’t stray too far from his house or use the internet. Ouch.
On January 20, dozens of New Zealand police’s elite special forces broke into Kim Dotcom’s mansion with assault helicopters, M4A3 automatic weapons, Glock pistols, dogs, sledgehammers and even a circular chainsaw, as if they were expecting a vicious narco gang waiting inside, armed to the teeth.
Kim Dotcom has been refused an appeal to be freed on bail by a New Zealand court, as its opinion that he is a “flight risk” still hasn’t changed.
Kim Dotcom likes things. He used to have a serious collection of cars, until it got taken away. One of the rooms in his house apparently houses more than six TVs. Now, we hear he just had a huge inflatable tank, just like the one in the picture, delivered to his house. Too bad he’s still in jail and won’t be able to appreciate it.
That bail hearing scheduled for Monday in the MegaUpload conspiracy trial didn’t go as well as Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom had hoped. It looks like he’s going to remain in custody for a few more weeks.
