EFF filed a brief today supporting Megaupload's position that the Court should provide a remedy under Rule 41(g)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a brief today in Federal Court in the United States on behalf of their client, Kyle Goodwin, supporting Megaupload's position that if the current Court finds that the Government misled the prior Court in seizing the domain(s) and taking down the Megaupload cloud storage site then this Court should provide a remedy under Rule 41(g).

The EFF brief declared:

"Megaupload’s recent filings, however, increase the concern and set forth additional potential bases for the property’s return, including that the seizures may have been based on misleading affidavits. Consequently, at the very least Megaupload, via counsel, should be granted leave to participate in any hearing held under Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(g), and any such hearing should explicitly consider the validity of the relevant search warrants (which includes at least those found at 1:12-sw-34, 1:12-sw-35, 1:12-sw-36, 1:12-sw-37, and 1:12-sw-40).

Specifically, Megaupload alleges that the government relied on Megaupload’s explicit cooperation with the government pursuant to a warrant from June 2010 (the “2010 warrant”) to form the basis of its criminal allegations in this action. Dkt. Nos. 156; 153-2 at 7. If this is true, as Megaupload argues, fundamental questions exist about the validity of the search warrants executed in this action. Id. at 4, 10. If the warrants are invalid—particularly if that invalidity is based on intentional wrongdoing by the government—then Mr. Goodwin should be entitled to return of his property. U.S. v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc., 513 F.3d 1085, 1105 (9th Cir. 2008) (“CDT I”)."