MegaUpload has been shut down since mid-January but so far the data that was uploaded to the file sharing website has yet to be deleted. Now a man who says he stored legitimate video files on the site has filed a petition to the judge handling the case. In short, he wants his files back.
The man, Kyle Goodwin, has the legal backing of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In the EFF"s legal brief, it states that Goodwin formed a business, OhioSportsNet, in July 2011. The business centered on Goodwin and others traveling all over the state of Ohio to film high school sports events. The videos were later shown on the company"s web site, some of which were streamed in real time, and Goodwin was beginning to make money.
While Goodwin says he backed up his videos on a personal hard drive, he also subscribed to MegaUpload"s premium service to upload the company"s videos as well. In mid-January, Goodwin"s storage drive failed. However, when he tried to get back his videos from his MegaUpload account he discovered that the federal government had shut the site down on charges of online piracy.
EFF Staff Attorney Julie Samuels states in the group"s press release:
The court can help make Mr. Goodwin – an innocent party here – whole again. With government seizures growing, we"re likely to see more and more cases like this, where lawful customers of a cloud service lose property in a federal copyright case. We"re hoping the court will set an important precedent to protect users from overzealous government agents.
A hearing on Goodwin"s case is expected to take place later in April.