Kim Dotcom could face extradition to the US

Kim Dotcom, essentially the Motion Picture Association of America and Digital Millennium Copyright Act's de facto prime target, and his colleagues actually can be extradited to the United States to face copyright charges according to a judicial ruling. However, don't expect the man behind Megaupload to appear stateside anytime soon.

As The New Zealand Herald, Dotcom's local news publication, tells it, the internet mogul has 15 days to appeal or apply for a writ of habeas corpus (produce the body) and it looks like his legal defense team is already taking care of that. In addition to copyright infringement, he faces charges for racketeering and money laundering as well. The BBC reports that he owes domestic authorities somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 million.

Dotcom's legal team naturally feels that the current ruling doesn't suffice, and the man himself has an eye on moving the case to his adopted country's high court, while The BBC also notes that he's going to sue the Hong Kong justice department (he founded Megaupload in China) for some $2 billion for taking the site offline.

The Associated Press says that should he and his colleagues be found guilty, they're looking at "decades" of imprisonment. The publication goes on to say that this wasn't a case for actually proving guilt or innocence, but where or not Uncle Sam could actually prosecute the man. It also notes that this case brings some bigger queries to light regarding how far the boundaries of United States law extend when it comes to the internet, and that this could affect how internet companies handle the sharing of copyrighted content.

For his part Dotcom seems disaffected by the entire situation. He recently tweeted that he's happy to be with his children over the holidays and that they're more important than any pending litigation. For an altogether different, jovial look at Dotcom than what you might have in mind, check out the Vice video below where he's found singing, playing GTA Online and giving a tour of his New Zealand compound.