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Update (12:22 p.m.): The markup for SOPA is happening now. Watch it live:

Original Post: A billowing controversy pitting Will.i.am, his label Universal and the popular file-sharing site MegaUpload against each other looks like it could be the first battle on the front lines of Congress's war on piracy. The situation is a little bit confusing and involves a promotional video, not-so-creatively titled "MegaUpload Mega Song," that may or may not be a pretty well-positioned protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) which is on the agenda of a House Judiciary Committee meeting on Thursday morning. Bear with us. There be devilish details.

Will.i.am is basically stuck in the middle of a fight between Universal and MegaUpload. "Mega Song" went viral last week and and a number of other hip-hop stars like Will.i.am, Snoop Dogg, Kanye and, for some reason, Kim Kardashian singing the praises of the file-sharing site. As a report circulated that Will.i.am had filed a complaint about MegaUpload not owning the rights to his likeness -- which is crazy because he clearly stars in the video -- Universal successfully issued a Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown request. That was swiftly countered by a lawsuit from the Hong Kong-based MegaUpload claiming that it indeed did own the rights and even had appearance consent and release agreements on file for all of the artists. In a federal court filing on Thursday, MegaUpload included the form Will.i.am signed back in September giving permission, and suddenly, it looks like Universal might be involved in a lawsuit they can't win. And the label stands to lose a ton of money in the process.