This article was last updated on June 16, 2023
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Dutchman sentenced to prison for illegal downloads Megaupload
A court in New Zealand has sentenced Dutch IT specialist Bram van der Kolk to 2.5 years in prison for facilitating illegal downloads (such as films) at the former internet company Megaupload. Earlier he was to be extradited to the US, but after a settlement he was allowed to be tried in New Zealand.
Van der Kolk was chief programmer at Megaupload, the company of internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom (real name Kim Schmitz). Megaupload was one of the most popular sites for uploading and downloading movies, TV shows and music.
However, many users illegally downloaded productions from the website, which was taken down by the FBI in 2012 as a result. The lawsuit against the internet company has been running for eleven years, but only now has there been a ruling on Van der Kolk’s involvement.
Copyright infringement and deal
The case is about violating copyrights of both large and small film and music companies. There is damage of at least $ 175 million, US authorities say. Last year, Van der Kolk and his German colleague Mathias Ortmann already confessed to being involved in a criminal group that allowed illegal downloads, also known as piracy.
In exchange for this confession, they were both allowed to be tried in New Zealand, instead of being extradited to the US. There they could also be tried for extortion. Ortmann was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison.
What is special is that the New Zealand court has ruled on humanitarian grounds that Van der Kolk may postpone his prison sentence until August because his mother is ill. Ortmann may also postpone his sentence until then because he is awaiting his second child.
The Kim Dotcom lawsuit is still pending
Earlier founder Kim Dotcom resigned Twitter that his company was wronged for what users of his site did illegally. His lawsuit, which began more than ten years ago, is still ongoing.
The internet entrepreneur did not sign a deal like Van der Kolk and Ortmann did. Dotcom may be extradited to America, where he can be punished more severely.
In response to the conviction of two of his former colleagues, Dotcom says he expects that part of the deal was that Van der Kolk and Ortmann will testify against him.
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