Now it is hard to say how accurate this really is, but knowing the MPAA, I would not be all that surprised if they were in fact, trying to completely outlaw bittorrent as a downloadable option.

The Torrentspy search engine today defended itself against a copyright lawsuit supported by the MPAA and brought by the major Hollywood studios by filing a Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit in Federal Court in Los Angeles. The Motion to Dismiss defends against allegations brought by the major Hollywood studios that hyperlinking to “dot torrent” text like files arising out of internet search engine results can constitute secondary copyright infringement.

According to defendants’ attorney Ira P. Rothken, “Torrentspy has filed a Motion to Dismiss the federal lawsuit on Monday arguing, amongst other things, that it does not link to Hollywood’s copyrighted works, it has cooperated with Hollywood in removing objectionable links to dot torrent files, it does not actively promote copyright infringment, and it cannot be held ‘tertiary’ liable for visitors’ conduct that occurs away from its web search engine. The MPAA, in my view, is going way beyond the Supreme Court’s recent Grokster opinion. This appears to be the first case where major Hollywood studios are suing a search engine that does not even link to any files copyrighted by Hollywood. The MPAA is in essence trying to outlaw the dot torrent file format.”

A copy of the Motion to Dismiss the case can be found at www.techfirm.com/mtdtorrentspy.pdf

If you wish to discuss this case or have any questions please contact Torrentspy’s lead counsel, Ira Rothken of THE ROTHKEN LAW FIRM at 415-924-4250 or via e-mail at ira@techfirm.com. The law firm web site is located at www.techfirm.com. Source: BusinessWire

Tags: lawsuit, mpaa, torrentspy, hollywood studios, copyright infringement