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Torrents Are Good For A Quarter Of All Encrypted Traffic

Encrypted Internet traffic is surging according to data published by Canadian broadband management company Sandvine. A new report reveals that 25 percent of the encrypted downstream traffic in North America is consumed by BitTorrent transfers, second only to YouTube. <img alt=" Torrents Are Good For A Quarter Of All Encrypted Traffic " height="354" src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/spy.jpg" title=" Torrents Are Good For A Quarter Of All Encrypted Traffic " width="400" /> 
In recent years it has become apparent that BitTorrent users are increasingly <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-users-long-for-anonymity-111021/">searching for options</a> to hide their download footprints. Thus far, however, there was little information available on how much of all encrypted traffic is file-sharing related. A new <a href="https://www.sandvine.com/trends/encryption.html">report</a> published by Sandvine now provides some insight into this. To find out how much of all Internet traffic is encrypted, and what the most popular sources are, last month the company gathered data in collaboration with a North American fixed access network. The findings reveal that nearly 30% of all downstream traffic is encrypted. The majority of the traffic remains unencrypted (65%), and the small remainder has yet to be identified. <img alt=" Torrents Are Good For A Quarter Of All Encrypted Traffic " src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sand.png" title=" Torrents Are Good For A Quarter Of All Encrypted Traffic " /> Looking at the individual sources of encrypted traffic we see that YouTube currently accounts for most of it. More than 11% of all downstream traffic comes from encrypted YouTube data, which is nearly 40% of all encrypted traffic. BitTorrent transfers come in second place with 7.2% of the total downstream traffic, which is good for nearly a quarter of all encrypted data. It’s worth noting that the report only looks at downstream traffic. BitTorrent’s share of upstream traffic is usually much higher, so the total percentage of all encrypted traffic will be well over 25 percent. 
 <img alt=" Torrents Are Good For A Quarter Of All Encrypted Traffic " src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sandenc.png" title=" Torrents Are Good For A Quarter Of All Encrypted Traffic " /> Another fact worth mentioning is that before YouTube made the transition to support secure data transfers, BitTorrent was the number one source of encrypted traffic according to Sandvine. With Netflix poised to move to encryption by default, the relative share of BitTorrent will probably drop even further in the near future. Absolute traffic is expected to keep growing, however. In response to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/aussie-anti-piracy-plans-boost-demand-vpns-150308/">various anti-piracy initiatives</a> and monitoring schemes around the world, BitTorrent users are increasingly turning to anonymizing services such as <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">encrypted VPNs</a>. It will be interesting to see how this trend develops during the years to come. 
 
credit:torrentfreak

Torrents Are Good For A Quarter Of All Encrypted Traffic

Encrypted Internet traffic is surging according to data published by Canadian broadband management company Sandvine. A new report reveals t...

Music Industry ‘Shuts Down’ Top Torrent Trackers

Unknown 0 P2P 11:25 AM

A regional court in Hamburg has ordered a hosting company to identify the operators of three iconic BitTorrent trackers that together coordinated dozens of millions of transfers per day. The order is the result of a complaint from German music group BVMI, which says it's behind the shutdown of the trackers shut down earlier this year. <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/images/opentracker.png"><img alt=" Music Industry ‘Shuts Down’ Top Torrent Trackers" height="290" src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/opentracker.png" title=" Music Industry ‘Shuts Down’ Top Torrent Trackers" width="400" /></a> 
OpenBitTorrent, PublicBT and Istole.it have long been the three largest BitTorrent trackers on the Internet, coordinating the downloads of 30 million people at any given point in time. This means that these non-commercial services, powered by the open source Opentracker software, handled a staggering three billion connections per day – each. We say handled, because the trackers have been offline since mid-January. The trio mysteriously disappeared, but the German music industry group BVMI now takes credit for the shutdowns. According to BVMI’s lawfirm <a href="http://www.raschlegal.de/news/filesharing-netzwerk-schwer-angeschlagen-rasch-rechtsanwaelte-erreichen-abschaltung-der-drei-groessten-bittorrent-tracker-der-welt/">Rasch</a>, the hosting company took the tracker offline after they were ordered identify the operators. However, the host initially refused to disclose the personal details. In an injunction released this week a <a href="http://justiz.hamburg.de/landgericht-hamburg/">Hamburg court</a> ordered that the hosting company now has to hand over the personal details of the tracker operators. The ruling follows a complaint from BVMI and is the first against so-called standalone BitTorrent trackers. These trackers do not host or process any infringing material themselves and are a content neutral part of the BitTorrent ecosystem. According to BVMI CEO Florian Drücke the music industry has recently expanded its focus beyond traditional torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay, to include these standalone trackers. “Without the Tracker, it will be much more difficult for those who offer and seek illegal content to make the first connection,” Drücke says. The downside, however, is that legal torrents also use these trackers to coordinate connections. According to <a href="https://www.wbs-law.de/">Christian Solmecke</a>, a German IT lawyer who has experience with file-sharing cases, the verdict comes a a surprise. “The court ruling amazes me. Apparently the court assumes that BitTorrent trackers are by definition something illegal. This is not the case,” he says. The lawyer doesn’t deny that the trackers play a role in both legal and illegal transfers, but they are content neutral and merely passing on metadata, similar to a DNS provider. “By the same argument these BitTorrent trackers are switched off you might ultimately forbid an ISP to continue to provide Internet access to end users, if copyright violations are committed,” Solmecke adds. While the three targeted trackers have been offline for months already, the ruling means that these type of services had better avoid Germany as their home base in future. “Apparently, the music industry sees the entire BitTorrent network as ‘evil’,” Solmecke concludes. Update: The article was updated to state that the court order only requires the host to identify the operators. Rasch lawyer Mirko Brüß further notes that this case should not be compared with and ISP who provides Internet access to consumers. “It appears Mr. Solmecke is not familiar with the BitTorrent technology. He is obviously not aware of the fact that the “opentracker” software comes with a blacklist. The tracker operators were asked to add certain info-hashes to this blacklist but failed to do so within a reasonable period of time,” Brüß says. “After their ISP was made aware of this situation, he shut the servers down in order to prevent his own liability. This is basically the same as the established notice-and-takedown proceedings under the DMCA and cannot be compared to an ISP providing internet access to end users.” 
 
credit:torrentfreak

Music Industry ‘Shuts Down’ Top Torrent Trackers

A regional court in Hamburg has ordered a hosting company to identify the operators of three iconic BitTorrent trackers that together coord...

Showtime and HBO Sue Over ‘Pre-Piracy’

Unknown 0 P2P 11:18 AM

HBO and Showtime are not known to go after pirate sites, but the upcoming Mayweather v Pacquiao fight has proven to be an exception. Together with Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Boxing the companies have sued two websites that announced intentions to stream the fight this weekend. <img alt=" Showtime and HBO Sue Over ‘Pre-Piracy’ " height="326" src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/maypa.jpg" title=" Showtime and HBO Sue Over ‘Pre-Piracy’ " width="400" /> 
HBO and Showtime are no stranger to online piracy. Their TV-shows are pirated millions of times each month. Nevertheless, both companies are not known for suing pirates or website owners, until now. Yesterday the two companies filed <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/263525367/Hbo-Showtime-Fight">a complaint</a> at a federal court in Florida targeting the websites boxinghd.net and sportship.org. Both are accused of planning to stream the upcoming Mayweather v Pacquiao fight. In a unique pre-piracy case, the companies accuse the sites’ owners of various copyright related offenses of an event that has yet to take place. The suing parties have invested many millions of dollars which they hope to earn back in part through pay-per-view sales. But instead of the $89 to $100 people in the U.S. have to pay, both sites promise free access. “There are no authorized online streams of the Coverage for delivery to United States audiences,” the complaint clarifies, adding that the defendants “are seeking to benefit from this high profile, live Fight by infringing the rights of Plaintiffs.” The site’s owners would then profit from these free streams though various advertisements. The example below includes a screenshot of the boxinghd.net site, which has since been <a href="http://boxinghd.net/">removed</a>. <img alt=" Showtime and HBO Sue Over ‘Pre-Piracy’ " src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/streamingmanny.jpg" title=" Showtime and HBO Sue Over ‘Pre-Piracy’ " /> HBO and Showtime argue that the anticipated stream of the fight will infringe on their rights and cause irreparable damage. To stop the sites’ operators from linking to streams of the event the companies have asked the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. In addition, HBO and Showtime demand damages to compensate for the expected losses. The lawsuit has already had some effect as boxinghd.net has thrown in the towel and is no longer advertising the fight. Time will tell whether sportship.org will be knocked down too. 
 
credit:torrentfreak

Showtime and HBO Sue Over ‘Pre-Piracy’

HBO and Showtime are not known to go after pirate sites, but the upcoming Mayweather v Pacquiao fight has proven to be an exception. Togeth...

Historic Pirate Bay Domain Decision Will Arrive Early May

Unknown 0 P2P 11:08 AM

After hearing argument from both the prosecutor and the organization in control of Sweden's .SE domain names this week, the Stockholm District Court will now consider the fate of two key Pirate Bay domains. With a verdict due in less than two weeks, will the Court order a historic confiscation or will the notorious site maintain its Swedish links? <img alt=" Historic Pirate Bay Domain Decision Will Arrive Early May" height="356" src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpb-logo.jpg" title=" Historic Pirate Bay Domain Decision Will Arrive Early May" width="400" /> 
A small Scandinavian country in Northern Europe, Sweden has become a key battleground for international copyright holders looking to stamp their authority on millions of BitTorrent users. Attacking the sites they populate is a key strategy and above all others the destruction of The Pirate Bay is paramount. Born and developed in Sweden, the now notorious site is no longer the most popular in the world (that crown is <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">currently worn</a> by KickassTorrents) but its profile ensures it remains a target with massive propaganda value. When The Pirate Bay is crushed a corner will have been turned, Hollywood and the record labels believe. Over the years the site has been squeezed out of Sweden, and Sweden has been squeezed out of the site. Numerous court orders and raids have ended its physical presence in the country and its Swedish management have long since gone. Indeed, as far as its operations at this moment are concerned, the only big connection the site has with Sweden is its domain name – ThePirateBay.se – and authorities are now doing whatever they can to break that most visible link. ThePirateBay.se (the site’s main domain) and PirateBay.se (a lesser used alternative) are being targeted by Prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad, the man behind the operation that <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-police-raid-the-pirate-bay-site-offline-141209/">took the site down</a> in December. Filed back in 2013 at the District Court of Stockholm, the motion targets Punkt SE, the organization responsible for Sweden’s top level .SE domain. This week the parties met in the Stockholm District Court, each putting forward their side of the argument. Ingblad didn’t respond to TorrentFreak’s offer to contribute to this article, but we know that he believes that Pirate Bay domains are criminal tools that enable copyright infringement, tools that should be confiscated by the state. Punkt SE, on the other hand, maintains that holding a registry responsible for infringement has no basis in law. Furthermore, disabling domains is an ineffective way to deal with infringement. “We believe it is wrong to pursue legal action against a top-level administrator like .SE to take away a service from the internet,” Punkt SE’s Maria Ekelund informs TF. “To confiscate a domain name is ineffective and disproportionate to achieve the impact of the earlier judgment, that is, to suspend access to the service itself.” In 2009, Swedish ISP Black Internet <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-taken-offline-by-swedish-authorities-090824/">was ordered</a> to stop providing Internet access to The Pirate Bay. The ISP initially declined to appeal the ruling but appeared to change its mind after its infrastructure was subjected to a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/ex-pirate-bay-isp-sabotaged-calls-in-police-090825/">huge cyber-attack</a>. While the appeal was <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/ex-supplier-of-pirate-bay-bandwidth-given-leave-to-appeal-091109/">granted</a>, the ISP <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/hollywood-lands-triple-strike-on-pirate-bay-openbittorrent-100522/">failed</a> to have the original decision overturned and subsequently blocked all traffic into and out of the IP addresses used by The Pirate Bay. For The Pirate Bay, the dream of trouble-free hosting in Sweden was largely over. But still, the site has found a way to stay online, no matter where in the world it has thrown anchor. Punkt SE believes that taking away Pirate Bay’s domain will do little to change that. <img alt=" Historic Pirate Bay Domain Decision Will Arrive Early May" height="234" src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/IIS-SE.jpg" title=" Historic Pirate Bay Domain Decision Will Arrive Early May" width="400" /> 
“To remove a domain name can be likened to taking away a sign that shows the address to a store operating illegally. Just because the sign disappears, does not mean the business disappears,” Ekelund adds. “However, we think it is good that the issue should be examined because the legal situation is unclear. This case differs from previous cases because it is not only directed against the holder, but also directly against .SE.” So now the waiting begins. In less than two weeks the Stockholm District Court will hand down its decision. Victory for Punkt will underpin the registry’s stance on limited liability and will buy The Pirate Bay more time. A win for the prosecutor will deliver a fairly serious blow to the site and draw a line in the sand for others looking to embark on similar adventures. But, perhaps more importantly, in the event the Court sides with the prosecution, Sweden will at last rid itself of the site that put the country in the crosshairs of the United States. No longer serviced from Swedish soil, with hardware or domain names, The Pirate Bay will be cut adrift to float at sea. Where will it dock next? That will remain a secret, at least for now. 
 
credit:torrentfreak

Historic Pirate Bay Domain Decision Will Arrive Early May

After hearing argument from both the prosecutor and the organization in control of Sweden's .SE domain names this week, the Stockholm D...

Movie Studios Give ‘Pirate’ Sites A 24h Shutdown Ultimatum

Unknown 0 P2P 11:05 AM

On behalf of the major Hollywood movie studios the Motion Picture Association (MPA) is demanding that pirate site operators shut down within 24 hours, or else. The recent push targets a wide variety of services, including some of the top torrent sites. Thus far, the only casualty appears to be a rather small linking site. <img alt="Movie Studios Give ‘Pirate’ Sites A 24h Shutdown Ultimatum " height="367" src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-running.jpg" title="Movie Studios Give ‘Pirate’ Sites A 24h Shutdown Ultimatum " width="400" /> 
In recent years Hollywood has tried several tactics to deal with so-called pirate sites. Through lawsuits against isoHunt, Hotfile and Megaupload, for example, or by targeting intermediaries such as search engines, Internet providers and hosting companies. The most direct option, however, is to simply contact the site owners directly. This is what the MPAA’s European branch has been doing lately. During recent weeks various sources have informed TorrentFreak about emails received from Jan van Voorn, the MPA’s Vice-President Global Content Protection, Internet Operations. The emails all use standardized language and have been sent to a wide variety of services ranging from some of the biggest torrent indexes, to linking sites and hosting services. The MPA mail puts the site operators on notice and alerts them to European jurisprudence under which they may be held liable for linking to pirated movies and TV-shows. “Without prejudice to our contention that you are already well aware of the extensive infringements of copyright, this Notice fixes you with actual knowledge of facts and circumstances from which illegal activities […] are apparent,” Van Voorn writes. Among other things the email mentions that Article 14 of the E-Commerce Directive requires sites to stop offering infringing material. In addition, the Hollywood group cites other recent cases supporting their claim. Without making a specific threat, the MPA demands that site operators stop offering infringing material within 24 hours. “This Notice requires you to immediately (within 24 hours) take effective measures to end and prevent further copyright infringement. All opportunities provided by the Website to download, stream or otherwise obtain access to the Entertainment Content should be disabled permanently,” the email reads. Interestingly, the movie studios are not just worried about pirated films. Towards the end of the email they also point out that some sites are using movie posters without permission. “Finally, we draw your attention that any use of the artwork of the Entertainment Content (e.g. movie or TV show posters) (‘Artwork’) is prohibited without authorization of the rights holder. Since the MPA Members haven’t authorized the Website to publish the Artwork, the Website is infringing copyright on that basis as well,” Van Voorn writes. For now the threats haven’t made too much of an impact. Only one site that we know of has shut down after receiving the email recently, and that’s the relatively unknown link site micromkv.com. TF contacted the movie industry group for more details on the efficiency of the campaign. The MPA didn’t provide any details but informed us that the emails are standard notices sent to websites that carry infringing content. “These notices ask respectfully that effective measures be taken to stop further infringement,” an MPA spokesperson says. “This activity is part of the MPA’s ongoing strategy to curb copyright infringement, encourage consumers to use legal sources of content and increase the viability and quality of those services that actually pay creators for their work.” It remains unclear whether the MPA will take legal action against the warned sites, or if the group will focus its anti-piracy efforts elsewhere. — One of MPA’s emails is posted in full below. 
 
 
 
 
 
<img alt="Movie Studios Give ‘Pirate’ Sites A 24h Shutdown Ultimatum " src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mpamail.png" title="Movie Studios Give ‘Pirate’ Sites A 24h Shutdown Ultimatum " /> 
 credit:torrentfreak

Movie Studios Give ‘Pirate’ Sites A 24h Shutdown Ultimatum

On behalf of the major Hollywood movie studios the Motion Picture Association (MPA) is demanding that pirate site operators shut down withi...

Grooveshark Shuts Down & Apologizes To The RIAA

Unknown 0 P2P 11:01 AM

To conclude a massive copyright infringement lawsuit launched by the major recording labels, Grooveshark shut down a few hours ago. Acknowledging mistakes had been made and apologizing profusely, the company said that it would delete all stored music and hand over its website and intellectual property to the RIAA. <img alt=" Grooveshark Shuts Down & Apologizes To The RIAA " height="187" src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/groove2.jpg" title=" Grooveshark Shuts Down & Apologizes To The RIAA " width="400" /> 
Owned and operated by Florida and New York based Escape Media, Grooveshark has been a fly in the recording industry’s ointment for almost a decade. Founded in 2006, the company had an abrasive relationship with the world’s largest record labels, one that led it into legal conflict on a number of occasions. Nevertheless, Grooveshark built an extremely popular product. With a reported 35 million users per month (Spotify has around 60 million), the company attracted high-profile advertisers including Mercedes Benz. It also managed to pull of limited licensing deals with big labels. But for some time the writing has been on the wall. With a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/labels-win-grooveshark-copyright-infringement-case-140930/">defense under the DMCA in tatters</a> (it was revealed the site’s founders and staff had uploaded copyrighted music to the site themselves), a case brought by the major labels (UMG Recording Inc et al v. Escape Media Group Inc et al) was bound to come to a sad end this week. With <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/grooveshark-faces-736-million-in-copyright-damages-150427/">$736 million in potential damages</a> floating around on the horizon, the conclusion was never likely to be good. And, as expected, a few hours ago the upstart music venture delivered the bad news. “Today we are shutting down Grooveshark,” the company announced. “We started out nearly ten years ago with the goal of helping fans share and discover music. But despite best of intentions, we made very serious mistakes. We failed to secure licenses from rights holders for the vast amount of music on the service. “That was wrong. We apologize. Without reservation,” the company said. Revealing a consent judgment arrangement with the RIAA, Grooveshark confirmed what many observers had feared. There would be no chance of a resurrection. “As part of a settlement agreement with the major record companies, we have agreed to cease operations immediately, wipe clean all of the record companies’ copyrighted works and hand over ownership of this website, our mobile apps and intellectual property, including our patents and copyrights,” Grooveshark said. The statement represents a huge change in attitude from a company that built its business on perceived protections offered by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. But in the end, however, the legislation offered no safe harbor. Instead, and probably through gritted teeth, Grooveshark’s farewell notes that although it was indeed a pioneer in an under-served market, obtaining permission from the labels (rather than forgiveness) is the right way to approach the market. “At the time of our launch, few music services provided the experience we wanted to offer – and think you deserve. Fortunately, that’s not longer the case. There are now hundreds of fan friendly, affordable services available for you to choose from, including Spotify, Deezer, Google Play, Beats Music, Rhapsody and Rdio, among many others,” the company said. “If you love music and respect the artists, songwriters and everyone else who makes great music possible, use a licensed service that compensates artists and other rights holders. You can find out more about the many great services available where you live here: http://whymusicmatters.com/find-music.” Although short, the RIAA’s statement gets straight to the point. <img alt=" Grooveshark Shuts Down & Apologizes To The RIAA " height="400" src="http://torrentfreak.com/images/riaa-logo.jpg" title=" Grooveshark Shuts Down & Apologizes To The RIAA " width="393" /> 
“Escape Media today entered into a consent judgment with a permanent injunction with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. “Under terms of the settlement, Grooveshark founders Josh Greenberg and Sam Tarantino admit to creating and operating an infringing music service and Escape Media agrees to significant financial penalties if the terms of the settlement are not followed,” the RIAA said. “This is an important victory for artists and the entire music industry. For too long, Grooveshark built its business without properly compensating the artists, songwriters and everyone else who makes great music possible. This settlement ends a major source of infringing activity,” the RIAA said. For Grooveshark the show is certainly over and in final words to its loyal fans, the company thanked them for their commitment. “It has been a privilege getting to know so many of you and enjoying music together. Thank you for being such passionate fans. Yours in music, Your friends at Grooveshark April 30, 2015.” 
 
credit:torrentfreak

Grooveshark Shuts Down & Apologizes To The RIAA

To conclude a massive copyright infringement lawsuit launched by the major recording labels, Grooveshark shut down a few hours ago. Acknowl...

Kim Dotcom Avoids U.S. Clutches For Three More Months

Unknown 0 P2P 10:57 AM

Kim Dotcom's upcoming extradition hearing has been delayed by three months. The procedure was set to go ahead in just four weeks but the High Court says that would give the entrepreneur insufficient time to prepare his case. It will now take place no earlier than September 1, 2015. <img alt=" Kim Dotcom Avoids U.S. Clutches For Three More Months" height="400" src="https://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop-150x150.jpg" title=" Kim Dotcom Avoids U.S. Clutches For Three More Months" width="400" /> 
While trying to recoup as much of his seized wealth as possible, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is determined to avoid being sent to the United States where he faces the largest copyright case in history. On four previous occasions the German-born businessman has been granted delays to his inevitable extradition hearing but in March his luck appeared to run out. Through his legal team Dotcom asked the North Shore District Court for an adjournment until October, claiming that more time was need to prepare his case and those of co-defendants Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk. The request was denied. Last month the parties returned to court with <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dotcom-appeals-extradition-delay-ruling-colleague-lawyerless-150421/">a request</a> for a judicial review. Today and with some reservations, Justice Sarah Katz at the High Court granted the application, sending the matter back to the District Court to set a new hearing to take place no earlier than September 1. Justice Katz said that she believed that the delay was necessary for Dotcom and his associates to prepare their cases and have a fair hearing. “I have therefore concluded, with some reluctance (given the time that has elapsed since the plaintiffs were first brought before the courts) that the interests of natural justice require an adjournment of the 2 June 2015 extradition hearing date,” Justice Katz said. Previously, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dotcom-loses-lawyers-then-they-erase-all-history-of-him-141113/">legal team issues</a> and associated financing problems have prompted Dotcom to seek delays to his extradition hearing, but this morning the Judge indicated that the current delay shouldn’t herald additional claims. “This [adjournment] should not be taken by the plaintiffs, however, as a signal that any ongoing funding or representation difficulties (if they arise) would be likely to justify further adjournments,” Justice Katz said. “On the contrary, the plaintiffs must take full responsibility for preparing for their extradition hearing on whatever new date is allocated, with whatever level of legal support they are able to secure.” The United States has been particularly vocal on Dotcom’s financial position with claims that the entrepreneur “improperly divested himself” of shares in cloud-hosting service Mega when that money could have been used for his defense. The Judge addressed those claims in today’s ruling. “[Dotcom’s] Trust Me Trust is said to be a sham and Mr Dotcom’s conduct in relation to it is said to amount to equitable fraud,” the judgment notes, adding that if such an allegation was true, further delays to any trial would not be tolerated. In the event, Justice Katz said the validity of the U.S. government’s claims would be determined in separate proceedings. “For present purposes I must give Mr Dotcom the benefit of the doubt on the issue. Further, the assets of the Trust Me Trust, whoever may ultimately be entitled to them, are currently subject to freezing orders,” Justice Katz wrote. Finally, Dotcom co-defendant Finn Batato, who previously applied for legal aid due to a poor financial situation, will now have to defend himself after that application was turned down. However, that is not viewed as a problem by the Judge. “Mr Batato will be able to derive significant benefit from the work undertaken by his former legal team prior to their withdrawal. He will also derive significant benefit from the fact that the other three plaintiffs are legally represented and the plaintiffs are taking a collaborative approach to extradition issues,” the judgment reads. While today’s judgment appears to rule out further delays to Dotcom’s extradition hearing, the history of this case has shown us to expect the unexpected. 
 
credit:torrentfreak

Kim Dotcom Avoids U.S. Clutches For Three More Months

Kim Dotcom's upcoming extradition hearing has been delayed by three months. The procedure was set to go ahead in just four weeks but th...