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Almost ten years after Megaupload was taken down, lawsuits against the site and its founder, Kim Dotcom, are still pending. The criminal case in the US awaits the outcome of the New Zealand extradition process and two civil cases, brought by the RIAA and the MPA, were suspended this week until April 2022, but are likely to start much later.
Ten years ago, online streaming had yet to become fully popular, and Netflix still had dozens of active DVD shipping locations across the United States.
Streaming piracy was also relatively new and most 'pirates' were still downloading movies from torrent sites or cyberlockers.
While cyberlockers have many legal uses, most of these services were viewed by copyright holders as pirate portals. This included Megaupload, which was by far the largest platform in this business.
Dark clouds coming
In hindsight, the end of 2011 was a crucial period. Megaupload was more popular than ever, something highlighted in the "Megaupload songAn unprecedented PR campaign featuring P Diddy, Will.i.am, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and other stars.
What Megaupload and its founder Kim Dotcom didn't know was that, at the same time, US law enforcement was preparing to tear down the site. A few weeks later, hundreds of Megaupload servers were seized as Dotcom's New Zealand mansion was raided in a military style operation.
Fierce extradition battle
The US Department of Justice partnered with New Zealand police and expected Dotcom and several other Megaupload defendants to be quickly extradited. That was a vain hope.
The Megaupload defendants fiercely contested the extradition request, which they continue to do to this day. After spending millions of dollars in legal fees, the end of this process is there's no place in sight yet.
Without extraditions, the criminal process in the United States is still pending and the last update in the judicial file dates back to five years.
RIAA and MPA Cases Deferred
This delay also affects civil cases brought by the RIAA and MPAA, which plan to hold Megaupload defendants liable for millions in music and movie piracy damages, respectively.
Since civil cases can potentially influence criminal proceedings, Megaupload's legal team previously requested to suspend these cases, and last week they requested another extension, which was quickly granted by the federal court in Virginia.
With no objection from the MPA and RIAA, it is no wonder the suspension until Awarded April 2022. If anything, these motions serve as a semi-annual reminder of the lack of progress in the Megaupload case.
It is quite possible that the extradition process in New Zealand will continue for several more years. And in the event that the defendants are extradited, it will take much longer before the criminal case is concluded. This means that 2022 can eventually become 2023, 2025, 2032, etc.
