Sites like NinjaVideo allowed users to easily search for the desired movies or music and provided the links that enabled them to download the content from Megaupload.

Continue reading

The other co-founder of NinjaVideo, Hana Beshara, was sentenced earlier this month to 22 months in prison.

While she admitted guilt, she portrayed herself as a sort of Robin Hood of the online world, stealing from greedy movie studios to provide entertainment downloads to the masses in the form of free films, TV shows, videogames and music.

While the legal defense for piracy may be difficult, accused Internet pirates clearly have their supporters, as evidenced by the millions of people who use their sites as well as the response to Thursday's Megaupload shutdown.

Within hours of the indictment being unsealed, the loose affiliation of hackers known as Anonymous caused temporary shutdowns of the Justice Department website as well as the websites of the Motion Picture Association of America and other industry groups that support a tougher piracy laws.

It could be months before the criminal case against Megaupload gets underway.

The four defendants arrested in made an initial appearance in a New Zealand court Friday and are scheduled to make a second appearance on Monday.

Authorities have said it could take a year or more to bring them to the U.S. if they fight extradition.