As the case against Megaupload -- the major file sharing site closed down in January by the U.S. government -- continues, users are still fighting to retrieve their personal files from Megaupload servers, against the protestations of the MPAA.

The latest development: in a court filing, the MPAA has agreed to allow users to access their files as long as those files don't infringe any entertainment industry copyrights.

"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 lawyers said in the filing.

That sounds like a win for Megaupload users, but it's a bit more complicated than that. There's really no practical way to determine whether each and every file is "infringing" or not, and putting such a mechanism in place would be a nightmare of red tape.

Megaupload users, represented by the EFF, will certainly see this ploy for what it is. It looks like the fate of the files will be left to the courts to decide.

[torrentfreak.]