How sites like MegaUpload make millions from pirated video

This story originally appeared on CNET and is republished with permission.

For the scope of this article, I am leaving all of the commentary on SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, and such aside for others much more well-versed than I to discuss.

A lot of people have been asking me the same question lately: Just how do file-sharing sites like MegaUpload — recently taken down by an international collection of law enforcement — make hundreds of millions … Continue Reading

Police seize Megaupload founder’s $4.3M home, let pregnant wife stay

Government officials have Megaupload founder and accused money-launderer Kim Dotcom right where they want him — locked up in New Zealand awaiting an extradition hearing — but that’s not stopping them from kicking the Internet mogul while he’s down.

New Zealand authorities seized Dotcom’s $4.3 million Coatesville home today, according to The New Zealand Herald. The property, not previously seized in a January raid that took $16 million in assets, is currently occupied by the … Continue Reading

Adobe Creative Cloud will get you CS6, Lightroom 4, 20GB storage for $50/month

Adobe Creative Cloud, a forthcoming service that will let you license Adobe’s highly sought-after Creative Suite and give you a plethora of cloud-based extras, now has a price tag: $50 per month with a required one-year contract.

Creative Cloud was introduced at the annual Adobe Max conference this past October with a promised launch date in “early 2012.” The service promises access to the latest version of Creative Suite software, Lightroom 4, Muse, Edge, touch … Continue Reading

Updated: Super Bowl Sting — Feds seize 307 domains in “Operation Fake Sweep”

Updated: Official statement from the U.S. Immigration and Customs office has been added at the bottom of the post.

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a new round of domain seizures today targeted at websites that provide access to illegal live sports streaming video.

The DOJ’s timing is likely related to this Sunday’s NFL Super Bowl championship football game, which has routinely become the most watched televised event of the year with over 100 … Continue Reading

Megaupload’s third-party hosts say user data won’t get deleted (for now)

The hosting companies that stored the files from Megaupload users’ digital lockers, Carpathia Hosting and Cogent Communications Group, have decided not to delete that data from its servers — at least temporarily.

For those of your who haven’t been following, Megaupload is/was a cloud storage company that encouraged users to upload personal files and share them with the outside world (and in some cases, it took a commission fee for doing so). However, U.S. federal … Continue Reading

What is ACTA and why are thousands of Europeans protesting it?

Has Europe gone mad? A trade agreement most Americans have never heard of has sparked outrage and protests across the pond.

Twenty-two of the European Union’s 27 member states signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Tokyo on January 26. In response, thousands of Poles marched in the streets, members of Poland’s parliament donned Guy Fawkes masks, and a member of the European Parliament quit in protest.

By contrast, when U.S. President Barack Obama signed … Continue Reading

Megaupload customers who lost their files banding together to sue FBI

When Megaupload was shut down a week ago by the Department of Justice and FBI for allegedly profiting from copyright infringement, many of the service’s users complained that they lost personal, non-infringing files. Now those users are banding together to sue the government.

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and several other Megaupload employees were named in a 72-page indictment issued last week by the Department of Justice. The indictment against Megaupload alleges it is connected to … Continue Reading

The Pirate Bay launches crazy Physibles category for printing 3D objects

In the next few years, physical replicas of objects could feasibly be pirated if The Pirate Bay has anything to say about it. The notorious site has introduced a file category called Physibles, which is targeted at 3D printers.

We first got a close look at 3D printers in action at CES 2012 with the awesome MakerBot Replicator. Essentially, this technology allows for the printing of three-dimensional objects by melting and fusing bits of plastic, … Continue Reading

15 file-sharing sites like Megaupload that the Feds may target next

As more details come to light in the much-publicized Megaupload case, other file-sharing sites around the web are shutting their doors in fear that they could be targeted next by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Over the weekend, popular Megaupload alternatives FileSonic and FileServe completely turned off the ability to share files with other people. And another well-trafficked site, Uploaded.to, has blocked all U.S.-based IP addresses in fear of getting in serious trouble with the … Continue Reading

Following Megaupload takedown, FileSonic & FileServe remove sharing features

After employees of file-sharing services Megaupload were arrested, similar digital locker services FileSonic, FileServe, and others have stopped allowing users to share the files they upload with others,

The “cyberlocker” provided by these companies is essentially a cloud service that allows people to upload a number of different files that can be shared/downloaded by others for a limited period of time (or permanently for premium customers).  The move to shutter this functionality by FileSonic, FileServe, … Continue Reading

Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom tells New Zealand court he’s innocent, bail decision pending

After being arrested and charged with running a huge online piracy ring, larger-than-life founder of file-sharing site Megaupload Kim Dotcom said Monday in a bail hearing that he was innocent of all charges.

Dotcom (pictured) and several other Megaupload employees were named in a 72-page indictment issued Thursday by the Department of Justice. The indictment against Megaupload alleges that it is connected to a vast criminal enterprise has caused more than $500 million in harm … Continue Reading

MediaFire CEO: Unlike Megaupload, our business model isn’t built on piracy

As the strange case of file-sharing site Megaupload continues to unfold, many wonder if the federal government will begin to clamp down on similar sites that function like Megaupload, with easy sharing and hosting of copyrighted files.

Already, two well-known file-sharing services, Uploaded.to and Filesonic have disabled several features of their sites this weekend because of the Megaupload scandal. Others are sure to follow.

But Derek Labian, CEO of popular cloud-based file-hosting site MediaFire, told … Continue Reading

SOPA is essentially dead, and we killed it

Following the news that the Senate is delaying a vote the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued a statement today admitting that Congress may need to rethink its approach to thwarting piracy.

Smith is the author of the House version of PIPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. Last week, he announced that a vote on SOPA would be delayed until February, but the delay could actually end up … Continue Reading

Megaupload lawyer: Swizz Beatz is not CEO of the file-sharing site

In the weirdly unfolding case of Megaupload, the “rogue” file-sharing site that was taken down by the Department of Justice Thursday, another puzzling element has come to light.

Just days after the New York Post claimed that musician and producer Swizz Beatz was CEO of the company, the top lawyer for Megaupload has said that Beatz was never officially the company’s chief executive.

“To my knowledge, Swizz Beatz was never involved in any meaningful way,” … Continue Reading

Senate Majority Leader delays vote on PIPA

A vote on the highly debated proposed piece of legislation the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) has been postponed, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced today.

PIPA, which was previously scheduled for a vote Jan. 24, is essentially the Senate version of the House’s proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) legislation. And like SOPA, it gives both the U.S. government and copyright holders the authority to seek court orders against websites associated with infringing, … Continue Reading

Department of Justice shutdown of rogue site MegaUpload shows SOPA is unnecessary

A strange confluence of events brought the question of how to deal with online piracy to the forefront of the American consciousness this week. Protests against the anti-piracy bills, SOPA and PIPA, were the major news of the day on Wednesday, with blackouts of big sites across the web. The very next day, MegaUpload, one of the largest sites allegedly enabling piracy on the internet, was shut down as the result of a two-year FBI … Continue Reading

FBI shuts down Megaupload 24 hours after Swizz Beatz revealed as CEO

Federal prosecuters have shut down popular file-sharing site Megaupload.com and charged its founders with a number of felonies, according to a statement by the Department of Justice and the FBI.

The DOJ indictment alleges that a vast criminal enterprise led by Kim Dotcom has caused more than $500 million in harm to copyright owners, while generating more than $175 million in criminal proceeds. Dotcom founded Megaupload Limited, and has vigoursly defended Megaupload as a legitimate … Continue Reading

10 things you need to know about SOPA and PIPA

The furor over SOPA and PIPA has died down, but the bills have not gone away.

In fact, there’s more reason than ever to pay close attention to the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261) and the Senate’s corresponding Protect Intellectual Property Act (S.968). These acts, while perhaps well-intentioned, are not well-written and could cause serious damage to the free flow of information on the Internet.

That’s why VentureBeat opposes SOPA and PIPA.

At … Continue Reading

3 million people and counting sign petitions against SOPA and PIPA

Update: Google said that 4.5 million people have added their signatures to the SOPA/PIPA petition since this morning. Mark Zuckerberg also threw his hat in the ring, Silicon Alley had a rad protest and a bunch of legislators who sponsored these bills withdrew their support. The internet is really flexing its political muscle.

Google blacked out the logo on its main page today to protest the controversial anti-piracy legislation, SOPA and PIPA, being debated … Continue Reading

House debate over SOPA anti-piracy bill to resume in Feb.

The U.S. House of Representatives has decided to push back a vote on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) for at least a month.

The delay is due in large part to opposition from many companies and organizations in the tech industry, including Google, Wikipedia and others. The House Judiciary Committee announced the delay in a new statement today.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who authored SOPA, said he expects markup on the bill (a.k.a. … Continue Reading