Collateral damage is unavoidable in war. A good general tries to keep this to a minimum, however, as the people who have no stake in the fight can only suffer. It seems that those waging the war on piracy didn’t get that memo when they took down Megaupload in January.
The curious case of Megaupload has seen its ups and downs since the beginning, but one thing has remained constant. Users have been repeatedly screwed over in regards to getting their data back. The MPAA, RIAA and the U.S. government all believe that Megaupload was only used for nefarious purposes, and use that line whenever Megaupload argues to have its user’s data returned. The MPAA was actually fine with users getting their data back, but they wanted everybody to play by their own restrictive rules.
The EFF has been fighting this whole time to have users’ data returned to them after the case of Kyle Goodwin came to light. Goodwin lost his entire business when Megaupload was taken down. There are others who have similar stories. That’s why the judge in the case, Liam O’Grady, wanted all interested parties to work out a deal. No such deal has been struck and users are still stuck without having any access to the data that, in some cases, they may desperately need.
The only option now is to take the case back to Judge O’Grady. EFF attorney Julie Samuels told TorrentFreak that O’Grady has been slow with a response to their request. In the past, O’Grady has proven that he doesn’t want to make a ruling on the case, but rather favors all parties coming to an agreement. If Apple and Samsung can’t come to an agreement on patents; there’s little to no chance of the MPAA agreeing with the EFF.
It’s hard to say when O’Grady will come to a decision. He may just send everybody back to the drawing room again to come up with an agreement. Here’s hoping that he actually makes a definitive statement on this case instead of leaving it up to the separate parties to agree on a deal.
As for Kim Dotcom, here’s his feelings on the matter:
Dear US Federal Judge, justice delayed is justice denied. Please make a ruling. The world is watching. No pressure 😉