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MPAA: Megaupload Users Can Have Their Files Back, But…

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MPAA: Megaupload Users Can Have Their Files Back, But…
By Ernesto

Almost half a year has passed since Megaupload’s servers were raided by the U.S. Government, and still there is no agreement on how former users can retrieve their files. Previously the authorities and MPAA have objected against such a mass retrieval, but in a filing at the court today the movie industry changed its tone. The MPAA states that users can have their files back as long as access to copyrighted files is blocked.

In the wake of the January shutdown of Megaupload, many of the site’s legitimate users complained that their personal files had been lost.

Among these users are many people in the U.S. military who used the site to share pictures and videos with family. Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom previously informed TorrentFreak that least 15,634 soldiers had accounts at Megaupload, between them sharing hundreds of thousands of files.

But as of January those files were rendered inaccessible and attempts by the parties involved to come to a solution have failed miserably.

Last month one of Megaupload’s users, represented by the EFF, filed a motion asking the court to facilitate such a user data retrieval. Today, the MPAA filed a response to this motion in which they appear to be more open to the request.

“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,†MPAA’s lawyers write.

But along with this sympathy comes a caveat. The movie studios don’t want users to have access to copyright-infringing files.

“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.â€

In addition, the MPAA doesn’t want any Megaupload people to have access to the servers.

“In no event should any Megaupload defendants or their representatives who have not generally appeared in this proceeding, and who are not subject to the control and supervision of the Court be allowed to access the Mega Servers under such a mechanism designed for the benefit of third-party Megaupload users.â€

Previously the MPAA said it was concerned that Megaupload would relaunch in a “foreign jurisdiction†should they regain access to their data.

Considering the above, one has to wonder whether the MPAA is seriously concerned about returning data to Megaupload users. It is practically impossible to separate copyrighted from non-copyrighted files on the servers, and an administrative nightmare in waiting for anyone tasked with enforcing the MPAA’s wishes.

With all the different states and wishes, there appears to be no other solution than for the court to decide what should happen to the data.
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13 comments
LOL, according to me, they sound like they have ceased all the copyrighted contents exist on earth when they said they don't want the users to have access to the infringing files. Wow! I am very sure those very same files on those Mega servers are already on the other file hosts' servers.

So they need to educate themselves better that the reason why users want to retrieve their files is just to get their important personal data and not their saved pirated contents (like users can't get from any other hosts).

And MPAA has ZERO right to hold the users' personal data. I mean, come on.... Who on earth will fight so hard to get back their copyrighted infringing data in their account? Who says, "I need my Transformers 720p quality rip back"?

The only situation I see here is that the legitimate users want their legitimate files back and MPAA doesn't want to give them back. w00t! Awesome. Let me go pre-purchase 100 movie tickets for this year in case a new movie comes out and I want to watch it. :)
 
They are going to return keep him with the complaints, because thousands and millions of voices, against a few? There's always power in numbers and will be in this case.
 
Because the MPAA says they do not care if you get your personal non copyright infringing files back does not mean they will be returned or that the courts or law enforcement will consider releasing them.
 
WDF said:
Because the MPAA says they do not care if you get your personal non copyright infringing files back does not mean they will be returned or that the courts or law enforcement will consider releasing them.
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It's actually a pretty smart tactical move. It makes the MPAA seem less douchy to a judge that isn't totally informed on the technology but essentially prevents anyone from getting any files back. Based on what I've read of court orders and such, it wouldn't surprise me if a judge said "okay, sure, this is reasonable, you can have all the files back, but no infringing files" without realizing that this is basically impossible. The sheer amount of man-hours it would take to organize would be daunting. And since the MPAA doesn't want any MU employees involved, it will take even longer. Furthermore, who is going to pay for it?

I think this is just a clever way for the MPAA to go "hey, we tried to be accommodating, but those rascally pirates put infringements EVERYWHERE, so no dice."

It also might be that the MPAA wants to use this to identify the people who would be dumb enough to try to claim their legitimate files and forgot that they're then also outting their identity with regards to their illegitimate files.
 
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