Megaupload Drops YouTube Music Lawsuit To Focus On Defense

Megaupload has decided to drop its YouTube lawsuit against Universal Music Group in order to focus on the company’s upcoming copyright and racketeering charges.

The file sharing service sued Universal Music Group after the company used its given YouTube authority to remove “Mega Song” a video that showcased various musicians voicing their support for MegaUpload, celebrities that included P Diddy, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J Blige.

The song eventually managed to rack up more than 100,000 pageviews before UMG had it removed. Megaupload eventually filed a lawsuit which claimed that UMG didn’t have the needed rights to the content.

Universal Music Group executives claimed that their private agreement with YouTube gave them permission to remove any content they chose regardless of who owned the content. YouTube quickly denied UMG’s claim, stating that the music provider had abused its given powers.

The lawsuit has been largely seen as a distraction for the company which is fighting charges that it violated US and international piracy laws. In the meantime founder Kim Dotcom is fighting extradition to the US from his home country of New Zealand.

While MegaUpload lawyers are largely claiming that they simply need to focus on their defense case critics have claimed that the company’s lawsuit against Universal Music Group was simply too weak to proceed. MegaUpload was denied an evidence exploration measure that it needed to prove that an illegal takedown of its Mega Song had actually occurred.

In the meantime it could be months before Kim Dotcom and his fellow co-workers face a lawsuit in the United States, even then New Zealand will have to approve the MegaUploader founders extradition to the United States before he can officially be brought up on charges.