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Kim Dotcom Can Be Extradited To US On Copyright Charges, New Zealand Court Rules (yahoo.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the he-said-she-said dept.

schwit1 shares a report from Yahoo News: Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom suffered a major setback in his epic legal battle against online piracy charges Thursday when New Zealand's Court of Appeal ruled he was eligible for extradition to the United States. The German national, who is accused of netting millions from his file sharing Megaupload empire faces charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering in the U.S., carrying jail terms of up to 20 years. Dotcom had asked the court to overturn two previous rulings that the Internet mogul and his three co-accused be sent to America to face charges. Instead, a panel of three judges backed the FBI-led case, which began with a raid on Dotcom's Auckland mansion in January 2012 and has dragged on for more than six years. His lawyer tweeted he would appeal to the NZ Supreme Court.

9 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. wow by cholby · · Score: 5, Insightful

    that's disgusting. US laws now World Laws? I'm expat soon

    1. Re:wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, different countries sign extradition treaties with each other for a variety of reasons. In many cases, countries seek favorable trade agreements with the US in exchange. The US is especially interested in copyright and IP law since it is a strong export of ours. If IP law is not enforced internationally, the US stands to suffer a huge economic blow (regardless of whether you think it is moral, this is an economic fact)

    2. Re:wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This has nothing to do with "the U.S. imposing laws on the rest of the world".

      MegaUpload had servers located in the U.S. If you commit a crime in Country A, you shouldn't be able to escape just by running off to Country B. That's the whole point of extradition treaties.

      That said, the case against Kim.Com is mostly just RIAA/MPAA Mafia bullshit, claiming that they lost gazillions of dollars due to "piracy". Unfortunately, like many pirates, Kim.Com may have been involved in other illegal activities as well, which strengthens the U.S. case against him.

    3. Re:wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      How odd.

      YouTube has servers in the USA which provide gigabytes of infringing content, care to mansplain why they aren't being prosecuted?

      Or are you just a mindless RIAA shill?

    4. Re: wow by WorBlux · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Precisely zero. If I copy your bike, you still have a bike. Granting government enforced monopolies is far from the only, or even best, way of rewarding creativity and innovation.

  2. time for him to pick another country by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    and hold out somewhere else that doesn't extradite.
    Maybe Snowden would like some company?

  3. Re:Hard to pick sides by benjfowler · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well, his arse is so big, there's no room left on his side. All good -- he'll lose some weight in jail.

    In all seriousness, you can't be an obnoxious, arrogant Russophile tosser like Kim, and not expect consequences. Life comes at you fast.

  4. Re:Hard to pick sides by Pseudonym · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Because even the sleaziest people in the world are, sometimes, legally in the right.

    Kim Dotcom's civil rights are the civil rights of anyone else in New Zealand. I don't live in New Zealand, but that's not relevant. As an Australian, I care that my New Zealand cousins are treated properly and ethically by their legal system.

    --
    sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
  5. Re:cross NZ off my list by MoaDweeb · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Assuming you are American we don't want you anyway. Are you able to point out NZ on a map?

    --
    New Zealanders are well balanced with a chip on each shoulder. One represents Australia, the other the rest of the world