Megaupload sued Universal Music on Monday, saying that the record label had no right to take the video down, since the file-sharing service had signed contracts from the performers, including Black Eyed Peas front man will.i.am. The suit sought an injunction and unspecified damages, saying the label had violated a provision in copyright law that forbids bogus copyright claims.
Universal admits it utilized YouTube’s content filters, known as the Content Management System, to have the video removed shortly after Megaupload had uploaded its $3 million production to YouTube. “On December 9, UMG utilized YouTube’s CMS system to effect the removal of a posting of the video on YouTube,” Universal attorney Kelly Klaus wrote (.pdf) in a federal court filing.
But Universal Music argues that even if it gamed Google’s system, that doesn’t count as an abuse of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act — so Megaupload has no grounds to sue the record label.
