The Motion Picture Association of America, a trade organization for Hollywood 's largest film studios, sued two Internet sites, claiming they illegally post copyrighted material.

The complaints were filed Tuesday in Federal District Court in Los Angeles against YouTVpc and Peekvid.com, the group said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. They seek a court order barring the sites from posting unauthorized material.

Both sites provide links to unauthorized copies of movies and TV shows and are supported by advertising, the association said. YouTVpc and Peekvid.com did not respond to e-mailed messages and requests for comment from their Web sites.

Billy Duran, a founder of YouTVpc, which is based in New Mexico , said his company provided links to videos found on other Internet sites, an act he said was legal.

"We are not violating any law," Mr. Duran said in an interview. "To say that infringes on the rights of every Internet user."

Virtually all of the materials provided by the Web sites are illegal copies of films or TV shows owned by member companies of the association, including the Walt Disney Company, the News Corporation and Viacom Inc., the association said.

Source: www.nytimes.com