KickassTorrents (commonly abbreviated KAT) was a website that provided a directory for torrent files and magnet links to facilitate peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent protocol. (Photo : YouTube/BNO News)
Kickass Torrents, prior to its demise in July 2016, operated like a lucrative flea market for pirated contents, the U.S. government said, adding that alleged KAT owner Artem Vaulin deserves a jury trial as he is as guilty as a drug dealer.
Responding to the court petition by Vaulin's defense team for the dismissal of copyright infringement and money laundering filed against the KAT operator, Zachary Fardon, lawyer for the United States, told the court that Kickass Torrents is not just a search indexing site as pictured by counsels for Vaulin. KAT was in the business of offering torrent files, Fardon maintained.
"These indexed files enabled users to obtain copyrighted content from other users, including from the defendant's own servers. KAT therefore functioned like a (lucrative) flea market for infringing movies, television shows, video games, music, and computer software," the U.S. government lawyer was reported by TorrentFreak as saying.
The U.S. filing also dismissed the claim by Vaulin's defense that there is no case as "secondary copyright infringement" does not exist under American laws. Fardon clarified that Vaulin is charged with conspiracy to commit infringement so the distinction between direct and secondary violation cannot be applied.
In operating Kickass Torrents, Vaulin facilitated the downloading or theft of copyrighted works and therefore "the defendant and his co-defendants may be charged with conspiring with and aiding and abetting those users," Fardon said.
"Nothing about the defendant's use of BitTorrent technology to carry out his crime makes him categorically above the law," the U.S. lawyer added.
The U.S. government maintained that Vaulin as the identified owner and operator of Kickass Torrents is as guilty as a drug dealer. The latter in many cases did not touch the illegal items he or she is selling but is definitely liable for proliferation of the prohibited narcotics. The same applies for Vaulin, the U.S. filing said.
Fardon asked the federal court in Chicago to deny Vaulin's prayer for the dismissal of the charges, saying that the defendant, a Ukrainian national, should make his case before a U.S. jury.
The development indicates that Vaulin will remain in custody and will likely be extradited to the United States, quashing the possibility of a Kickass Torrent comeback anytime soon. And that means that The Pirate Bay and other leading torrenting sites will continue on their newfound role as best KAT and Torrentz alternatives.
