The US Department of Justice has trumpeted the bringing of charges against the principals of one online copyright infringement site, and the jailing of the founder of another, at the same time as voting on the controversial US Anti-piracy legislation was postponed.

Megaupload.com and seven individuals associated with it have been charged with criminal copyright offences alleged to have caused more than half a billion dollars of loss to copyright owners, according to a DoJ press release. In a separate statement, the DoJ reported that Matthew David Howard Smith had been sentenced to 14 months in prison for his role in founding the illegal movie and TV show download site NinjaVideo.net.

On the same day, voting on the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act was postponed, following protests culminating in the Wikipedia day-long blackout. As the sponsor of the Congress Bill, Chairman Lamar Smith, explained: “I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products.”