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Kim Dotcom Mulls Suing Tech Giants for 'Copyright Breach' 23 May 2013

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Kim Dotcom Mulls Suing Tech Giants for 'Copyright Breach' 23 May 2013 Kim Dotcom mulls suing tech giants for 'copyright breach' 23 May 2013 "Google, Facebook, Twitter, Citibank, etc. offer Two- Step-Authentication. Massive IP (intellectual property) infringement by U.S. companies. My innovation. My patent," he added. To back his claim, the 39-year-old posted a US patent describing the authentication process filed in 1998 by Kim Schmitz—Dotcom's name before he legally changed it—and published in 2000. Dotcom said he had never sought to enforce copyright on his invention but was now reconsidering in light of the US case accusing him of masterminding massive online piracy through his now-defunct Megaupload file-sharing site. Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom at his mansion in Auckland on January 20, 2013. Dotcom said Thursday "I never sued them. I believe in sharing knowledge he was considering taking legal action against tech & ideas for the good of society. But I might sue giants such as Twitter, Google and Facebook for them now cause of what the U.S. did to me," he infringing copyright on a security measure he invented. said. However, he said a more productive approach Internet mogul Kim Dotcom said Thursday he was would be if the tech giants helped cover his legal considering taking legal action against tech giants bills to fight prosecution under the Digital such as Twitter, Google and Facebook for Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA), which he infringing copyright on a security measure he estimated would exceed US$50 million. invented. "Google, Facebook, Twitter, I ask you for help. We Dotcom, who is on bail in New Zealand as US are all in the same DMCA boat. Use my patent for authorities seek his extradition in the world's free. But please help fund my defense," he tweeted. biggest copyright case, said he invented "two- factor authentication", which many major sites "All of our assets are still frozen without trial. have adopted as a security feature. Defending our case will cost US$50M+. I want to fight to the end because we are innocent." Twitter became the latest major player to introduce the measure on Wednesday following a series of The authentication process works by sending a text cyber-attacks which saw hackers take over the message containing a verification code to the user's accounts of high-profile targets such as media mobile phone when they login, which must be organizations and send out fake tweets. entered to gain access to the account. "Twitter introduces Two-Step-Authentication. Using The US Justice Department and FBI want Dotcom my invention. But they won't even verify my Twitter to face charges of racketeering, fraud, money- account?!," Dotcom tweeted. laundering and copyright theft in a US court, which could see him jailed for up to 20 years. 1 / 2 He denies US allegations the Megaupload sites netted more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than US$500 million by offering pirated copies of movies, TV shows and other content. The German national is free on bail ahead of an extradition hearing scheduled for August and launched a successor to Megaupload called Mega in January this year. © 2013 AFP APA citation: Kim Dotcom mulls suing tech giants for 'copyright breach' (2013, May 23) retrieved 28 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2013-05-kim-dotcom-mulls-suing-tech.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. 2 / 2 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org).
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