Megaupload's Ripple Effect

When the U.S. Department of Justice shut down online file-storage company Megaupload in one of the largest criminal copyright cases ever, it also cut off legitimate customers like Suzanne Barbieri.

The London-based musician, who performs under the name Beloved Aunt, had used Megaupload since 2009 to send her songs to her producers and record label. She even used it to store the digital versions of her work that she gave away as freebie downloads. "If this leads to the closure of all file sharing sites, then I've no idea what people in my position will do," she said. "Piracy hurts artists, but so does this heavy-handed approach of penalizing legitimate users for sharing their own work." The experiences of Ms. Barbieri and other customers of online storage sites known as "cyberlockers" raise some difficult questions about the government's case against Megaupload, and the rights of legitimate users on those services.