Kim Dotcom appeal starts next week

Watch the live-stream on YouTube (20-minute delay).

See also: Judge failed to go into case with open mind – Megaupload lawyer (August 29 2016)

The world will be watching Auckland’s High Court for the next eight weeks, with Kim Dotcom’s appeal against extradition to the US beginning on Monday.

In December, Judge Nevin Dawson ruled there was a case to answer in the copyright violation, money laundering and racketeering charges brought by the US government against the Megaupload founders: Mr Dotcom, Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk and Finn Batato.

After 10 weeks of hearings and many hundreds of pages of submissions in the Auckland District Court, the “overwhelming preponderance” of evidence against the men established a prima facie case, Judge Dawson said, with all four eligible for extradition on all counts.

The four were charged by the US government in 2012 of conspiracy to operate websites used to distribute copyrighted material illegally.

All maintain they are innocent but the FBI says they generated $US175 million in criminal proceeds.

They are appealing their case before Justice Raynor Asher in an eight-week fixture.

Mr Dotcom posted on Twitter that he is asking the High Court to allow live-streaming of the case but says the US government is opposed.

Because of global interest in my case we have asked the High Court to allow live-streaming of my 6 weeks of copyright extradition hearings.

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 23, 2016

The U.S. Government has asked the New Zealand High Court not to allow live-streaming of my global interest copyright hearing. Worried? :-)

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 24, 2016

US Govt via Crown tried to settle my case twice (no extradition) if I accept 'some' copyright liability. Told them to bugger off. #Innocent

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 25, 2016

His US lawyer, Ira Rothken, recently discussed the case in a one-hour podcast on TechCrunch.

The issues in a nutshell
The US alleges Megaupload was a simple fraud scheme deliberately designed to attract, protect and profit from copyright infringing material.

In their defence, Mr Dotcom’s lawyer Ron Mansfield said the case amounts to whether an internet service provider (ISP), which he says Megaupload is, can be responsible, or should be responsible, for breaches of copyright by its users.

A provision in the country’s Copyright Act also provides a “bar against prosecution” for dual technologies, Mr Mansfield said, claiming it is no crime to make money from a brilliant idea.

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