Megaupload.com billed itself as a "cyberlocker, " a means of storing large data files on distant servers.
The Megaupload case shows how natural experiments can arise, and how they are limited.
The New Zealand prime minister has issued an apology to Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom.
The spying was carried out just before police raids that shut down file-storing service Megaupload.
And of course the Megaupload case could be a template for future copyright enforcement efforts.
FORBES: How Copyright Criminalization Threatens Online Innovation
According to the indictment, Megaupload leased data-storage space from Carpathia Hosting Inc. and Cogent Communications Inc.
They accused Mr Dotcom and other managers at Megaupload had profited from the piracy.
Better known as Kim Dotcom, he was boss of Megaupload before it was closed by police.
Legal action by Megaupload and digital rights groups stopped anything happening to the servers.
The founder of file-sharing website Megaupload has been denied bail by a New Zealand court.
Megaupload, on the other hand, said it was diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.
As it is possible they will do in the Kim Dotcom and Megaupload cases.
FORBES: Possible Problems With the Kim Dotcom and Megaupload Prosecutions
Dotcom has so far managed to dance away from the American authorities over MegaUpload.
FORBES: Links 19 Jan: Kim Dotcom's PR System Is Certainly Working Well Over Mega
"In light of Megaupload, it's possible that users are worried about the wrong thing, " she said.
More details have emerged about the web storage service being set up by Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom.
It looks like, in some way, shape, or form, Megaupload is coming back sooner rather than later.
FORBES: Kim Dotcom Hints That Megaupload Is Coming Back This Year
Mr Dotcom's home and the offices of Megaupload were raided in January as part of an FBI investigation.
If major content companies had filed a civil lawsuit against Megaupload, they might have had a strong case.
FORBES: How Copyright Criminalization Threatens Online Innovation
Mr Dotcom, who founded Megaupload in 2005, has been accused of copyright theft, money laundering and racketeering fraud.
Megaupload owner Kim Dotcom has announced his plans to launch a new website, despite still being under arrest.
While Megaupload was based in Hong Kong, Mr. Dotcom lived in New Zealand.
It alleges that Mr Dotcom was head of a group of Megaupload employees that made millions from copyright piracy.
Mr Dotcom's home and the offices of Megaupload were raided in January 2012 as part of the FBI investigation.
The switch-on date for the new Mega service is 20 January, almost exactly a year after Megaupload was shuttered.
The trial of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and the site's management team is due to start on 6 August.
According to the government's indictment, Megaupload has claimed more than 180 million registered users in its five-year existence.
When Anonymous recently attacked a number websites to protest the shutting down Megaupload, security experts noticed something unusual.
FORBES: Click 'n Hit: How Supporters Of Anonymous?Are Making It Easier To Cripple Websites
Attorneys for Megaupload, which is based in Hong Kong, have denied the charges.
They accused Mr Dotcom, and other managers at Megaupload of profiting from piracy.
Mr. Dotcom later started a new life in Hong Kong, where he was the mastermind behind Megaupload, among other businesses.
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