The New Zealand judge overseeing Kim Dotcom's extradition fight has removed himself from the Megaupload case. At a recent conference on copyright, Judge David Harvey stated, "we have met the enemy and he is US," a reference to tough US intellectual property policy. Critics argued that the statement called his impartiality into question, and the judge apparently agreed.

"He recognises that remarks made in the context of a paper he delivered on copyright law at a recent Internet conference could reflect on his impartiality and that the appropriate response is for him to step down from the case," said the district court's chief judge, Jan-Marie Doogue, to the New Zealand Herald.

The comments came last week at the NetHui conference in Aukland. The conference was organized by a group that opposed strong copyright language in the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty.

The development is a blow for Kim Dotcom, because Harvey's May ruling suggested he was sympathetic to Dotcom's arguments. "The United States is attempting to utilize concepts from the civil copyright context as a basis for the application of criminal copyright liability," he wrote, echoing the views of Dotcom's own lawyers. He ordered the US government to give Kim Dotcom data from his hard drives, ruling that their seizure had deprived the defendants of access to information they need to defend themselves.

Harvey has also granted Dotcom easier bail terms, allowing him to return to his mansion and freeing him from electronic monitoring requirements.

According to the Herald, the case will now be overseen by Judge Nevin Dawson. Dawson was previously involved in Dotcom's bail request back in February.