San Francisco - The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has asked a federal judge to rule that the movie files linked to through BitTorrent search engine TorrentSpy infringe their copyrights, and also that the site has no "substantial noninfringing uses," CNET News.com reported.

The legal move is the latest in the MPAA's case against TorrentSpy, which shut down access to its site to U.S. users in August following an order from the judge in the case to turn over server data on U.S. users to the studios -- effectively eliminating any identifying information on U.S. users that could be turned over to the court.

"The primary reason for the changes was to protect end-user privacy worldwide," Ira Rothken, TorrentSpy's attorney, told News.com.

"Web sites are allowed to evolve their technology during litigation especially if they evolve to protect user privacy. The irony here is that studios are blowing hot and cold. On one hand they asked in their lawsuit for TorrentSpy in essence to shut down U.S. traffic. When the company did, the plaintiffs complained that TorrentSpy is in violation for not supplying information under the log file order. They're never satisfied."

It's unclear when Jacqueline Chooljian, the federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles handling the case, will rule on the studios' request for sanctions against TorrentSpy.

Related Links:
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9795571-7.html

http://tinyurl.com/39eql8 (DMW previous coverage)

http://www.mpaa.org

http://www.torrentspy.com