It would seem that the world's largest file sharing site — Kickass Torrents (KAT) — will not be in operation for a while since its CEO Artem Vaulin will remain in prison after the Court of Appeals of Poland rejected argument filed by Vaulin's legal team citing his innocence in any form of copyright infringement.

The court also rejected his plea for temporary freedom under supervision owing to health concerns. His lawyers earlier cited his spinal hernia in the petition, but the court ruled that he could get medical attention for his condition while he is in custody. According to a report by Torrent Freak, this is to ensure that there will be no problems with Vaulin's extradition to the U.S. while the case is being heard.

It can be recalled that the KAT CEO was arrested in July through a joint operation conducted by U.S. and Polish government agencies for charges of large scale copyright infringement and money laundering. 

Meanwhile, it has been reported that while the crackdown against online file sharing sites remains stringent, there are still clone and alternative sites that can be accessed.

The HNGN revealed that there are six reliable sites that lacks the fluidity and some features of KAT or Pirate Bay but still serve their purpose nonetheless. Among the best KAT alternatives is KAT.am which is a clone of the site. ExtraTorrent.cc, on the other hand, is a popular alternative to The Pirate Bay but it is also faced with some legal issues.

RARBG.to, YTS.ag, Idope.se Torrents-pro are also reliable sources of downloads and files, according to the report. While some are only limited to some countries, they are more dependable than random sites that have been prevalent online lately.

Still, while these alternatives are safer than other sites, downloaders should still proceed with caution about accessing copyrighted content from any site.