The Motion Picture Association of America responded Tuesday to a motion that requested the return of Megaupload users' files, which have been locked down in the ongoing United States v. Kim Dotcom case, reports TorrentFreak. The MPAA's response asked the Eastern Virginia District Court to prevent the release of illegally downloaded copyrighted material in the event that the court allows users to retrieve their other legal files.
This stance is a reversal of the organization's original statement that objected to a mass retrieval of any files. While the MPAA is now officially comfortable with users retrieving their legal files, the organization still opposes any access to the Megaupload servers by Kim Dotcom and other Megaupload employees or associates.
The original motion to retrieve files was filed by Kyle Goodwin, represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, whose perfectly legal videos of local sporting events are being held in limbo on Megaupload's servers.
"... if the Court is willing to consider allowing access for users such as Mr. Goodwin to allow retrieval of files, it is essential that the mechanism include a procedure that ensures that any materials the users access and copy or download are not files that have been illegally uploaded to their accounts," reads the MPAA's statement.
TorrentFreak points out that releasing the legal files without releasing the illegal files is a logistical nightmare for anyone tasked with such a feat, and suggests that the MPAA's response might be an empty gesture if it knows that returning just the non-infringing files is nearly impossible.
Nevertheless, the MPAA's statement says, "The MPAA Members are sympathetic to legitimate users who may have relied on Megaupload to store their legitimately acquired or created data, although the Megaupload terms of use clearly disclaimed any guarantee of continued access to uploaded materials."
Source: TorrentFreak
Document: Scribd
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