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Kim Dotcom's defence lawyer, Ira Rothken, has attacked the US and New Zealand authorities, accusing them of causing lasting damage to online innovation.
Rothken attacked the US and New Zealand authorities in an exclusive interview with V3, claiming that the outcome of the Megaupload case will have far-reaching consequences across multiple industries.
"The elephant in the room, right here, is the tension between copyright extremism and the need for copyright safe harbouring," Rothken told V3.
"It [the Megaupload case] demonstrates the tension between the Hollywood copyright militia and the policy issues of copyright balance that are needed for internet innovation.
"Ruling in favour of Hollywood will reduce the availability of cloud storage sites and cause problems for small businesses and individuals who are in the greatest need for competition in the marketplace."
Rothken added that the recent slew of misconduct rulings and allegations against US and New Zealand authorities proved that the two countries know their case against Megaupload is bogus.
"There is no criminal statute for secondary copyright infringement in the US. This is experimental criminal prosecution. And in an effort to beat us and overcome what we believe is a lack of merit on the core claims, the US, with the assistance of New Zealand, has implemented draconian procedures to take down the Megaupload cloud storage site at any cost," said Rothken.
"Now that these procedures are coming under scrutiny they appear to have violated the law at nearly every part of the process. From an illegal search warrant to what we believe is an illegal military style raid, to illegal data sharing with the US, illegal spying and ultimately what we believe is an over-broad takedown of the entire Megaupload enterprise."
Rothken's comments come after New Zealand prime minister John Key issued a public apology to Dotcom, after it was ruled that the country's security services had spied on him illegally.
"There has been a trail of government misconduct. We have an illegal search warrant in New Zealand and we have a preliminary determination of an illegal search and seizure," said Rothken
"Finally we have the fact the United States acted illegally when they took data from Mr Dotcom's hard drives from New Zealand without authorisation."
Law enforcement officials initially raided Dotcom's home in January, when 70 New Zealand police officers descended on Dotcom's mansion.
The operation was conducted at the behest of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which has accused Dotcom of being the kingpin of a so-called internet 'piracy' ring.
Prosecutors have estimated that Megaupload earned $175m by allegedly providing access to illegally copied music, movies and other copyrighted content before being shut down.
Rothken moved to clarify Dotcom's plans to fight the US extradition request, claiming that Hollywood's influence over US policymakers makes it unlikely that he would receive a fair trial.
"The circumstantial evidence demonstrates Hollywood has great influence on this case," Rothken told V3.
"Given what we perceive as the influence of Hollywood on the current administration in [Washington,] DC, we think that the totality of circumstances show that it is likely he would not have a fair procedural landscape here in the US at this time."
Dotcom is one of the website owners battling extradition to the US. In the UK, TV Shack founder Richard O'Dwyer is facing similar accusations from the FBI.
Source
Rothken attacked the US and New Zealand authorities in an exclusive interview with V3, claiming that the outcome of the Megaupload case will have far-reaching consequences across multiple industries.
"The elephant in the room, right here, is the tension between copyright extremism and the need for copyright safe harbouring," Rothken told V3.
"It [the Megaupload case] demonstrates the tension between the Hollywood copyright militia and the policy issues of copyright balance that are needed for internet innovation.
"Ruling in favour of Hollywood will reduce the availability of cloud storage sites and cause problems for small businesses and individuals who are in the greatest need for competition in the marketplace."
Rothken added that the recent slew of misconduct rulings and allegations against US and New Zealand authorities proved that the two countries know their case against Megaupload is bogus.
"There is no criminal statute for secondary copyright infringement in the US. This is experimental criminal prosecution. And in an effort to beat us and overcome what we believe is a lack of merit on the core claims, the US, with the assistance of New Zealand, has implemented draconian procedures to take down the Megaupload cloud storage site at any cost," said Rothken.
"Now that these procedures are coming under scrutiny they appear to have violated the law at nearly every part of the process. From an illegal search warrant to what we believe is an illegal military style raid, to illegal data sharing with the US, illegal spying and ultimately what we believe is an over-broad takedown of the entire Megaupload enterprise."
Rothken's comments come after New Zealand prime minister John Key issued a public apology to Dotcom, after it was ruled that the country's security services had spied on him illegally.
"There has been a trail of government misconduct. We have an illegal search warrant in New Zealand and we have a preliminary determination of an illegal search and seizure," said Rothken
"Finally we have the fact the United States acted illegally when they took data from Mr Dotcom's hard drives from New Zealand without authorisation."
Law enforcement officials initially raided Dotcom's home in January, when 70 New Zealand police officers descended on Dotcom's mansion.
The operation was conducted at the behest of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which has accused Dotcom of being the kingpin of a so-called internet 'piracy' ring.
Prosecutors have estimated that Megaupload earned $175m by allegedly providing access to illegally copied music, movies and other copyrighted content before being shut down.
Rothken moved to clarify Dotcom's plans to fight the US extradition request, claiming that Hollywood's influence over US policymakers makes it unlikely that he would receive a fair trial.
"The circumstantial evidence demonstrates Hollywood has great influence on this case," Rothken told V3.
"Given what we perceive as the influence of Hollywood on the current administration in [Washington,] DC, we think that the totality of circumstances show that it is likely he would not have a fair procedural landscape here in the US at this time."
Dotcom is one of the website owners battling extradition to the US. In the UK, TV Shack founder Richard O'Dwyer is facing similar accusations from the FBI.
Source
