Megaupload Court Battle Continues….

Back in February, we reported on Megaupload's mega extradition battle, the article can be read here.

For those that may not know, Megaupload was the file sharing service which enabled users to access thousands of gigabytes of digital content for free. The service was founded by Kim Dotcom, the German internet entrepreneur, in 2005, however the site was closed down in 2012 by the FBI and is now defunct.

Since the site was shutdown, Dotcom has found himself embroiled in a number of legal battles in relation to several different issues, from charges of copyright infringement to money laundering, Dotcom is no stranger to the court room.  Dotcom has always protested his innocence exclaiming that he could never have policed the activities of all site users who may have been sharing copyrighted material. Dotcom, who is now living in New Zealand, has been fighting against his extradition to the US since the site was shut down.

One recent legal battle relates to Dotcom's attempts to obtain information held on him from a number of government departments. Following the denial of these requests, Dotcom filed a complaint with the Human Rights Review Tribunal (HRRT) which found in favour of Dotcom: stating that this was a breach to his right to privacy. Dotcom was awarded an amount in damages as a result, however the decision was appealed by the Attorney General.

This week the appeal was heard in Wellington. In a turn for the worse for Dotcom, the Court sided with the Attorney- General and found that Dotcom should not have been awarded these damages explaining that there is no evidence Dotcom would have suffered loss of dignity to justify such an award.

Dotcom expressed his dismay in a Twitter post on Tuesday, where he references his controversial beliefs that the judges in New Zealand are corrupt. Like most of the decisions that have been made following Megauploads shut down, this one is likely to be appealed also.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniel & Co. on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.