Recent weeks have seen spectacular arrests and mounting tension between those who would like to make it harder to share copyrighted material online and those who champion Internet freedom. Controversial U.S. legislation has been shelved, but the battle continues.

It was roughly 6:30 a.m. when two police helicopters suddenly started circling over the "Dotcom mansion" northwest of Auckland, one of the most expensive estates in New Zealand. By that time, it must have been clear to the mansion's occupant that he was about to say goodbye to his sweet life, at least for a while. Although he locked himself in a safe room with a gun, the authorities eventually managed to reach Kim Dotcom, as the man currently calls himself. He is also known as Kim Tim Jim Vestor, Dr. Evil or simply Kimble. In 1974, he was born Kim Schmitz in the northern German city of Kiel.

Schmitz, probably the most colorful figure in Germany's "New Economy," had moved halfway around the world to escape his reputation. And, at least from his standpoint, he had finally achieved success. With websites like Megaupload and Megavideo, Schmitz had built an enormous Internet empire beginning roughly in the mid-1990s. At times, Megaupload was in 13th place among the most-visited sites worldwide.

According to the U.S. indictment against him, Schmitz and his associates have raked in more than $175 million (€135 million) from their activities. For more than two years, the FBI had investigated Schmitz and his associates, including German nationals Mathias O., Sven E. and Finn B., all of whom have also been indicted.