The game was first announced by The Walt Disney Company on April 26, 2005. It was the second MMORPG developed by the VR Studio, the first being Toontown Online, which was launched in 2003. The game was developed by the VR Studio, a group of technologists and artists that are part of the Walt Disney Internet Group. Sample screenshot from Pirates of the Caribbean Online. Disney was in negotiations for the key actors to lend their voice talents to the game.Ĭommon MMORPG features such as player guilds and a virtual economy were also announced. His extradition appeal is set to begin in Auckland on 29 August and is expected to last four to eight weeks.The game allowed each player to create his/her own customized pirate character, battle other online pirates, and complete pirate-themed quests both on ship and on land.ĭisney's Mike Goslin said the game will feature interactions with the main characters from the " Pirates" feature films, both heroes and villains.
The head of Megaupload, known by the pseudonym Kim Dotcom, is free on bail in New Zealand pending the extradition effort, and recently vowed to revive his operations. The move comes with US officials in a long battle to extradite the head of Megaupload, another major piracy site shuttered by the FBI in 2012.
Vaulin, who used the screen name “tirm”, was involved in designing the original website and ran the site which has been operating since 2008 through a Ukrainian-based front company called Cryptoneat.Īccording to the justice department, KAT’s website “purports to comply with the removal of copyrighted materials” but evidence showed it did not remove content requested by organisations such as the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and Entertainment Software Association.
Recently, the website allowed users to download illegal copies of recent hit movies such as Captain America: Civil War, Now You See Me 2, and Finding Dory. KAT has moved its domains several times after being blocked in Britain, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and Malaysia, according to the complaint, and has relied on a network of computer servers located around the world, including in Chicago. The website’s value is estimated at more than $54m, with annual advertising revenue in the range of $12.5m to $22.3m, according to the complaint. The complaint said officials were able to track and identify Vaulin from records provided by Apple on his iCloud account.Īccording to the complaint, KAT operates in 28 languages and has made available movies that were still in cinemas along with other content, earning revenue from advertising throughout its site. US officials will seek to extradite Vaulin to face charges filed in federal court in Chicago, which ordered the seizure of one bank account and seven domain names associated with the file-sharing website. His arrest in Poland, however, demonstrates again that cybercriminals can run, but they cannot hide from justice.” “In an effort to evade law enforcement, Vaulin allegedly relied on servers located in countries around the world and moved his domains due to repeated seizures and civil lawsuits. “Vaulin is charged with running today’s most visited illegal file-sharing website, responsible for unlawfully distributing well over $1bn of copyrighted materials,” said assistant attorney general Leslie Caldwell. KAT, which distributes films, video games, television programs, music and other electronic media, is estimated to be the 69th most frequently visited website on the internet, according to a justice department statement. The criminal complaint said the website offers “a sophisticated and user-friendly environment in which its users are able to search for and locate content” which is protected by copyright. Vaulin is alleged to own Kickass Torrents or KAT, which in recent years has eclipsed Pirate Bay and others to become the world’s biggest source of pirated media.
The US justice department unveiled a criminal complaint against Artem Vaulin, 30, of Kharkiv, Ukraine, who was arrested in Poland on Wednesday and is being sought by US authorities for copyright infringement, money laundering and other charges. A Ukrainian alleged to be the ringleader of the world’s biggest online piracy site, Kickass Torrents, has been accused of distributing more than $1bn worth of illegally copied films, music and other content.