Posted on 04/22/2012 2:40:06 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
Is the U.S. government's huge criminal trial against Megaupload in trouble?
Federal judge Liam O'Grady is being quoted as saying, "I frankly don't know that we are ever going to have a trial in this matter."
The comment was reportedly made at a hearing over Megaupload's data where O'Grady expressed concern to the FBI over the issue of whether Megaupload has been served court papers. It was picked up by a local newspaper in New Zealand, where Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom awaits word of whether he'll be extradited.
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
Not quite. His real crime was stealing and distributing for profit the legally protected work of others.
This fat freak has apparently made a one-man(?) end-run around centuries of legal establishment.
In a just world, he'd be publicly hanged.
And as for his "customers", well, thank God for karma.
strangely enough, he’s working WELL within the law ... you see, china doesn’t recognize intellectual property rights.
and where is his business? hong kong.
if you don’t like it, tough beans. the world doesn’t live by America’s laws. if you think they should, you’re a fascist. America has about as much right to arrest and inflict it’s ‘just-us’ on Kimball as saudi does to impose it’s laws on the people of America.
get a grip. the world is a large place. you don’t like how it’s done in one country, don’t go there.
Nice generalization. Pity it’s not true. LOTS of people kept totally legitimate files in storage at Megaupload, files they have been denied access to, without due process of law. And now, they may not even prosecute.
Sounds to me, that DotCom has a case for tens of millions of dollars of damages against the Feds. . .
it must feel like "fun" to people who live in intellectual caves.
I'm sorry -- I chuckle every time I picture what such people become when their fantasies become their reality.
ha! I’m sorry — it just dawned on me. The concept of “intellectual” anything is lost on anyone who’s rationale is “because I can!”
“Not quite. His real crime was stealing and distributing for profit the legally protected work of others.”
My understanding is that Megaupload was an online personal storage locker. It was used by some to store what they stole illegally - others for legitimate purposes. I don’t agree with any of the storage of illegal materials - and the guy is not my favorite either... but the USA took down a foreign company.
Kim’s mistake was using a server in Virginia, which the US used to claim jurisdiction. They did a related takedown recently of an Canadian gambling company (bodog) - a foreign company that ran afoul of the laws of Maryland. They had a .com domain address, so the US claimed jurisdiction and took them down.
Lessons:
Don’t use a US sponsored domain - go with something overseas, host it overseas, and make sure all your servers are overseas. Listening, FR?
but if he showed up to sue them... they’d toss him in jail for ‘crimes’ he ‘committed’ while outside US jurisdiction.
if that ‘logic’ stands... just about any American male, except tebow, would be beheaded if they ever entered saudi for the ‘crime’ of drinking alcohol, viewing scantily clad women, being alone with an unrelated woman without a chaperone, and premarital sex
You left out blasphemy...
My, you ARE a tad naive. He’d send LAWYERS, not himself. . .
And your Straw Man is a weak grasp, even for a Straw Man argument. .
the only thing ‘dawning’ on you was last nights taco bell
like the vast majority of Americans, you’ve probably never left the US so the concept of jurisdiction and sovereign laws is lost on you. being from new york, that’s expected... as it’s full of mioptic egotists bent on the belief that the rest of the world should be like new york (a disease ridden cesspool)
US ‘laws’ are just that.. laws for the US. they have no more effect on the people of china then new york tax ‘laws’ have on residents in florida.
and yes... we here in florida would ask that you new yorkers stay in new york
as someone that has used lawyers in other countries, i’m fully aware how it works.
IF he shows up... they’d grab him and inflict their bs on him
a brilliant argument, perfectly fitting of a pickpocket.
Intellectual caves lined with plush, luxurious stolen intellectual property.
Still, sten makes a good case, however obnoxiously, that if you don't like China's laws regarding intellectual property or copyright - well, what are you going to do - it's not your country. I sure as heck don't want the Eurozone deciding that the 2nd Amendment is illegal here in the U.S.
Excellent post. Couldn’t agree more. He was acting well within the law of his Jurisdiction.
We need to be careful about the “hang the b****rd” approach. That’s what has gotten us the Police State in which we now live. They try and scare us and pass all the laws they want (Patriot Act). They try and scare us and won’t let us have a Conservative. So we’ve got Mittens and a world of hurt in Hussein.
Stop running scared people. Stop it now.
Would be some what stupid for an American to go to Saudi Arabia anyways don’t you think?
Though your example is somewhat weak it would be more akin to an American illegally trafficking booze into Saudi Arabia...and then goes to Saudi Arabia and is arrested.
To be honest I never got the support seemingly decent people give towards pirating. I can understand being against censorship but let’s be honest these upload sites are for fat neckbeards to get free copies of Transformers 3 ( not exactly some deep political tract)
That being said , while not rich, I defiantly have enough money to actually pay to go to the movies. (no offense of course) So i never really had the need to steal someone else’s artistic work.
(yes I know the argument that its not “stealing” because its not the original copy, frankly that is a bit childish)
As far as some legitimate work being on megaupload. Thats fine and dandy...its those people’s fault for using a site they had to know was also being used for illegal activity.
By the same reasoning everything you have at the local Lok-n-Stor could be seized if one other Loc-n-Stor customer parked a stolen bike in one of their spaces.
If i knew that the “loc n stor” was involved in illegal activity I would be pretty stupid to use them. Its not like its “one” other customer either. Its more like the vast majority of customers were involved in illegal activity and the owner knew about the illegal activity. I would probably use the other “loc-n-stor” that charges you money so as to keep out crooks with entitlement mentality,
Lets not forget...its not stealing!!! because its not the original!! it’s only a copy! So I guess by the typical pirate’s logic the government can seize whatever they want because it doesn’t really exist.
I’ll stick with paying money for a product though.
The “police state” statists that infect FR will never see it your way. You make too much sense. But this ought to be a lesson to anyone considering “cloud” storage anywhere.
No matter what company you use, they can be shut down on a whim by the government and all your data lost or pilfered by the government. Doesn’t matter how legal they are now, they can be accused of being illegal and shut down. BAM!!!
I see more and more talk of cloud storage and cloud computing, but there is simply no way I would ever trust it now (for sure) and I was never a fan to start. It is a no-go for me now. Even free storage wouldn’t interest me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.