zealand

The man behind the controversial Megaupload site has been given permission to remain in his native New Zealand for the moment. A local court has ruled that American officials must divulge full details of the evidence against site owner Kim Dotcom ... before he can be extradited. The Megaupload site came under fire because it allowed users to upload files and share them with others. As with many such sites, a high proportion of these files appeared to be copyright-protected material shared without permission. Difficult for Prosecutors to Convict In similar cases, it has been difficult to convict ... (view more)

Authorities in New Zealand are currently testing a new "three strikes" policy designed to reduce copyright infringement. It's not yet clear, however, if the idea is having a significant deterrent effect on illegal file-sharing. The 'test' policy is ... based on the idea that a customer deserves two warnings about his or her alleged infringements, and then can face serious consequences for a third instance of illegal activity. In New Zealand, a law introduced last year allows a copyright holder to take a three-time infringer to a special tribunal where they can be fined as much as NZ $15,000 ( ... (view more)

The case against Megaupload.com, the Hong Kong-based file-hosting website accused of providing illegal access to copyright-protected media files, has now been dealt a critical blow. A New Zealand judge has ruled that the search warrants used by ... police in that country to raid the home of Megaupload's leading members were illegal. Megaupload sites were shut down in January by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) after the owners were indicted on charges of copyright infringement. At the heart of the scandal was Kim Dotcom, a.k.a. Kim Schmitz, a German national and current New Zealand ... (view more)