Now that’s irony
June 11th, 2012 at 10:00 am by David FarrarStuff reported:
FBI agents who copied data from Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom’s computers and took it overseas were not acting illegally because information isn’t “physical material”, the Crown says.
That is hilariously ironic.
Tags: copyright, Kim Dotcom
June 11th, 2012 at 10:24 am
Ha! the torrent sites and Julian Assange would agree with that assertion!
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 10:26 am
The criminal Assange would agree with anything!
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 10:34 am
LoL. Perhaps information only becomes ‘physical’ once it’s been sold to someone else.
Might be a basis of defense for Dotcom. He never sold information, just storage space.
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 10:41 am
You would have thought the legal terms ‘tangible’ or ‘intangible’ would apply – perhaps this is a ballsup by Parliament?
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 10:41 am
Wonder if they had a trawl through and helped themselves to songs and movies…
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 10:43 am
Hello, ‘ello, ‘ello…..
So, what happens now when someone is charged with having child porn on their computer?
What happens now when someone is charged with illegally accessing or hacking a computer?
” But, Your Honour… they are just computer images, NOT “physical material”.
The mind boggles.
And to think that we as taxpayers are compelled to pay these Crown Law and Crown Prosecutor wankers.
Let me be clear: I hold no brief for “Dotycom” or who ever he is. But enough is enough.
Marshall must take responsibility for this (Collins just escapes because he took his golden parachute to the judiciary).
Is this the sword hanging over Marshall’s head, just as Urewera hung over Broad’s?
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 10:44 am
I don’t mean to come across a pedant, but it isn’t irony at all. It’s hypocrisy.
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 10:51 am
Surely such rationale would have future implications in matters like physical assault.
A whack on the head could be deemed not to have happened
Vote:(a) as soon as any discomfort could be no longer felt – and
(b) if it had left no mark.
June 11th, 2012 at 10:58 am
This is funny, but, I guess they are right.
This is the thing with laws, do you comply with the spirit of the law, or, the actual wording.
It appears the actual wording is what counts, which is why laws are fallible.
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 11:17 am
The more interesting point is will the judge issue an arrest warrent for the FBI agents involved, and what will happen in that situation? Especially given the US’s dislike of subjecting their operatives to foreign justice.
But yes had to laugh at the attempted defence by the crown. I half expected the judge to ask how they could prosecute Dotcom, if they believed that.
Vote:Would have potentially made for court room gold.
June 11th, 2012 at 11:43 am
Legal can of worms opened very very wide, all I can say is ouch & I think the Crown just walked into very big trap, nice work by dotcom’s lawyers.
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 11:48 am
Nigel,
I think that this is a trap of the Crown’s own making.
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 11:58 am
There are elements of this whole Dotcom affair which I find disturbing. I have no idea whether the allegations of illegal activities are valid or not but in effect the NZ Police based on a request from the FBI have shut down what was a fairly substantial business on the basis of an allegation. There has been no court case, none has been found guilty of any criminal acts, securities law breaches or any other breaches for that matter. In effect DotCom is accused of nothing more than breaching copy-write, so we have helicopters, armed police and a confiscation of all of this guys business assets. I would have thought that the reality is that this should be a civil case and dealt with by those who claim to have had their copy-write breached suing for damages.
The actions of the police providing data to the FBI seems like a case of the police extending the middle digit to the Court by seeking a smart arsed legal interpretation. If they needed a legal opinion they should have gone back to the Court for a ruling.
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
I seem to recall that the Judge has asked the Crown to explain themselves more fully. Essentally the Police and the FBI are in contempt of our court.
Vote:We posted this all last week.
June 11th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
This thing will fizzle out in January 2013. A Romney Justice Department won’t be interested in SOPA prosecutions. Hollywood isn’t the Republicans favourite institution. Whether Kimdotcom can sue, and , or pick up the pieces is another matter. The government and police here have acted abominably.
cheers
David Prosser
Vote:June 11th, 2012 at 2:02 pm
DJP6-25,
Baloney. Copyright protection in the US isn’t about George Clooney and the “liberal hollywood elite”. It’s about property rights and profits for American companies, something the Republicans are for just as much as the Democrats.
SOPA and PIPA had broad bi-partisan support and were only defeated by grassroots opposition, not the Republicans or the Tea Party and certainly not Romney. Indeed we had Rupert Murdoch championing SOPA and PIPA and criticizing Obama for supporting piracy and “stealing”. Certainly News Corp would rate as one of the Republican’s favoured institutions, if not the most favoured.
Vote:June 12th, 2012 at 8:01 am
Weihana
But the issue here is about process. The FBI have alleged breech of copy write. The case has not been to court and yet a multi million business is shut down and all this guys assets are impounded. Then the NZ police collude with the FBI to bypass a NZ court order on a technicality.
This whole affair reeks.
Vote:June 12th, 2012 at 10:14 am
Mark,
I agree. While it’s understandable that the government be able to shut down certain websites to prevent the ongoing violation of the law, I don’t think it’s appropriate in this case given the untested nature of the prosecution’s argument. I also think copyright violation is more a civil matter than a criminal one.
Vote: