Google filed a lawsuit against Mississippi attorney general Jim Hood on Friday for allegedly helping the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) launch an illegal campaign against the company.
The case was filed in the Federal District Court in Southern Mississippi that aims to stop Hood from obtaining records from the search engine giant. Google argued that Hood violated several federal laws when it issued a 79-page subpoena that is out of his jurisdiction," according to the New York Times.
Google general counsel Kent Walker revealed the conspiracy between Hood and MPAA on a blog post.
"We are deeply concerned about recent reports that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) led a secret, coordinated campaign to revive the failed SOPA legislation through other means, and helped manufacture legal arguments in connection with an investigation by Mississippi State Attorney General Jim Hood."
Hood has not responded yet to the lawsuit, but his spokeswoman Jan Schaefer said that he is already reviewing it. Earlier this week, he clarified that MPAA had no significance influence on his decision-making when he submitted the subpoena.
MPAA, on the other hand, believes that the lawsuit is Google's attempt to distract people from its case.
"Google's blog post today is a transparent attempt to deflect focus from its own conduct and to shift attention from legitimate and important ongoing investigations by state attorneys general," the MPAA said in a statement. "We will seek the assistance of any and all government agencies, whether federal, state or local, to protect the rights of all involved in creative activities."
The MPAA has been critical of Google's actions related to anti-piracy. The members felt that the search giant is not doing enough as it failed to erase the links of the sites involved in copyright infringement.
The Verge reported that while the Hollywood studios involving Universal, Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Disney did not pressure Google to remove the illegal contents, they launched a silent campaign against web piracy and "Goliath" (Google) so that they don't have to go to court just to prove that Internet Service Providers are liable for copyright infringement. The group has reportedly involved some attorney generals to assist legally in its fight against the search engine giant.
