3 Count: Family Matters

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1: U.S. Government Turns Attention to Kim Dotcom’s Wife

First off today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that the U.S. government has turned its attention to Kim Dotcoms estranged wife, Mona Verga Dotcom, and is attacking both her role in Megaupload and her relationship with her husband.

Kim Dotcom was arrested in January 2012 and faces extradition from his home in New Zealand over his role in running Megaupload, then the largest cyberlocker site in the world. Most of his assets have been seized as part of the investigation but Mona is claiming that she is owed half of those assets as per her relationship with her husband.

However, the U.S. government is alleging that Mona had knowledge about Megauploads illegal nature, noting that she had 6 accounts with the service. They also dispute her marital claim saying that her “marital interest” in the property doesn’t begin until she married her husband in July 2009, well after Kim Dotcom had earned most of his fortune. The government also commented on Kim Dotcom’s latest venture, Mega, calling it a “piracy haven” with some technical changes to separate it from Megaupload.

2: Student Tried to Pirate 3D Film Gravity in Cinema, Court Told

Next up today, Ross McCarthy at The Birmingham Mail reports that Ciprian Florea is facing trial over allegations that he attempted to pirate the film “Gravity” back in November. However, what makes the case unusual is the means with which he is accused of trying to do it.

Florea was stopped entering the cinema carrying a 3D camera he made. He is accused of trying to use the camera to pirate the film, a popular 3D movie, and distribute a 3D version of the movie online. It’s the first such case of someone trying to pirate a 3D movie this way.

Florea denies that he intended to use the camera to pirate the film, saying that he is a film student and only intended to use the camera to record real life. He also said that using a 3D camera this way would not work, though later tests showed that it would.

3: A Pirate is Transforming EU Copyright Law

Finally today, Sarah Kaufman at Vocativ reports that Julia Reda, a Pirate Party representative from Germany, has been put in charge of drafting a new copyright law for the European Commission.

The law is part of the 2015 initiative entitled “Digital Single Market”, which is designed to consolidate EU copyright laws, as opposed to having many countries set their own laws. The aim is to both reduce confusion and streamline licensing and the launching of new services throughout the EU.

Reda is scheduled to present a draft of her report to the Legal Affairs Committee on January 20th though it is unclear exactly what elements of EU copyright law she will be addressing.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

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