That's according to the judge in the case, and the development comes after months of drama involving the now shuttered filing-sharing website.

U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady made the proclamation while hearing arguments about deleting Megaupload member files, which are .

The judge said a discussion about wiping Megaupload's database could be premature and that a more relevant question was why Megaupload had not been formally served with criminal papers by the United States.

Attorneys on both sides weighed in.

Dotcom's attorney, Ira Rothken, maintained that whereas individuals can be served outside of U.S. jurisdiction, foreign companies cannot, reports .