The world of internet piracy was rattled in January, when file-sharing giant Megaupload was shuttered by the federal government for racketeering and copyright infringement charges, and several of the site’s founders and employers were placed in jail. At the time, the company’s presumed CEO, Swizz Beatz, was cleared of all charges when it was revealed that he was still only in negotiations to run the company. But now the feds are targeting Swizz as well, and using his involvement with the company in an attempt to try the case in the U.S.
Before the shut down, Swizz had been very vocal about his support for the file-sharing website and he was even listed as the CEO of the company on the website. However, Swizz’s lawyer claimed that he was more of an endorser of the site and not involved in its day-to-day affairs.
But according to Gizmodo, the feds are intent on trying the New Zealand-based company here in the states, even though it falls out of U.S. jurisdiction, and they’re going to try to use Swizz to do so.
U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride claims that Swizz represented Megaupload in an official capacity in front of the United States Trade Representative, which means the company should be tried in the U.S.
Swizz is currently refusing to cooperate with the feds, but if he’s served by the feds, he may not have a choice but to help their case.
Stay tuned as this story is sure to develop, and in the meantime check out some other major copyright infringement cases below. – nicholas robinson
