Dotcom must reveal assets

Internet millionaire Kim Dotcom has lost his appeal. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Internet mogul Kim Dotcom has lost an appeal against a court decision that has forced him to reveal all his assets to Hollywood studios taking him to court.

In a decision released today, the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court judgement which said Dotcom must file an affidavit detailing all his assets.

It followed a July decision by Justice Patricia Courtney ordering the Mega founder to reveal his assets amid fears he was asset-dumping by bankrolling the internet Party.

Dotcom and his lawyers applied for a stay of the judgment pending an appeal, in which they questioned the grounds of the decision.

However, the Court of Appeal said his legal team failed to prove Justice Courtney's decision was flawed. It dismissed his appeal.

The court also ordered Dotcom to pay the studio's costs in relation to the appeal saying he had no need to launch the legal bid. His stay application in August had failed and he had already complied with the order to enter a sworn affidavit of his assets to the court in the interim.

"He did not have to run that appeal. He could have restricted the contest to an application for orders restricting the use of and access to the two disclosure of assets affidavits he has sworn," the judgement said.

"In those circumstances, Mr Dotcom is to pay the respondents' costs."

It also made confidentiality orders protecting the details of Dotcom's affidavits from becoming public.

This latest court action is part of a long-running legal battle between Dotcom and major Hollywood movie studios and record labels suing the internet millionaire and his associates.

20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros claim Dotcom-founded Megaupload and its key operators "facilitated, encouraged, and profited from massive copyright infringement of movies and television shows" before it was shut down in 2012.

They have filed a civil lawsuit in the US against Dotcom, Megaupload, majority shareholder Vester Ltd, chief technical officer Mathias Ortmann, and programmer Bram van der Kolk.

The studios claim the defendants generated more than US$175 million in illicit profits and cost US copyright owners more than half a billion dollars.

The movie studios are seeking profits and damages from the defendants, and through the High Court in Auckland sought freezing orders against Dotcom.

They are worried that although Dotcom is subject to orders restraining the disposition of assets in New Zealand, he may have assets "that are outside the scope of the criminal restraining orders and is disposing of them".