The Megaupload drama involving what exactly is happening with user files keeps getting more and more interesting. One Megaupload user is tired of waiting for the courts to figure out what is going to happen with his files and is petitioning a Virginia court to get his files back.
Kyle Goodwin, owner of OhioSportsNet has filed a brief with a Virginia federal court asking that the files he had stored on Megaupload be returned to him. The brief, filed with the Virginia court, begins,
“It is one thing to take legal action against an alleged copyright infringer. It is quite another to do so at the expense of entirely innocent third parties, with no attempt to prevent or even mitigate the collateral damage."
Goodwin's attorney detailed that he had signed up for a premium account on Megaupload that was used to store raw footage of games, interviews, and promotional materials for his business. Goodwin was using his premium Megaupload account as an online backup of the files on his hard drive in case his computer crashed.
Goodwin's idea to backup his files online was a smart one. In January his hard drive did indeed crash but it happened right after Megaupload was shut down. That means Goodwin didn't have access to his online backup. This situation is leading Goodwin to claim he has suffered significant loses with his business.
In his testimony Goodwin said,
“The loss of my files has made doing the business of OhioSportsNet difficult. For example, at least four parents had inquired about paying me to put together highlight reels of their children’s sporting events to send to colleges for recruiting purposes. Without my files, I have been unable to do that.”
The attorneys claim the Government is directly responsible for Goodwin's losses and that the man's Fourth Amendment protection against illegal search and seizure is being ignored.
“The government cannot just execute its search warrant and wipe its hands of any responsibility for the property incidental to that warrant, especially when the government’s actions have the direct effect of impermissibly denying innocent third parties of their property."
The other argument is that Goodwin and others are the victims of a seizure that is far too broad.
“Perhaps in an attempt to avoid responsibility for its seizure, the government has alleged that some data on the servers consists of infringing copies of copyrighted works. However, the potential presence of others’ infringing files does not diminish the Court’s responsibility to safeguard customers’ lawful and noninfringing files and provide for their return,” the brief reads.
Goodwin obviously hopes this matter is resolved quickly so he can get to his files. It makes me wonder how many other people are in Goodwin's position and whether or not they will jump on board and file briefs of their own.
