Website Can’t Claim File Sharing Is Legal

A federal court has temporarily banned a Los Angeles-based website from claiming that its service lets users legally share copyrighted files, the government said.

The Federal Trade Commission said that Cashier Myricks Jr., doing business as MP3downloadcity.com, has been barred from suggesting that his $24.95 tutorial and referral service enables users to legally download copyrighted music files, video games and “movies still in theaters.” According to the FTC, it doesn’t.

A temporary restraining order was issued Sept. 27 by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The FTC is seeking to make the ban permanent, negotiate refunds for consumers who believe they were misled and require that the defendant notify people who use the service about the legal consequences of sharing copyrighted material.