Google is being Sued, Big Time
For those of you who do not know, on Tuesday, Viacom landed a $1 billion lawsuit on Google Inc. and its Internet video sharing site YouTube. The suit was filed over “unauthorized use of its copyrighted entertainment”.
Viacom claims that almost 160,000 unauthorized clips of its programming have been uploaded onto YouTube’s site and viewed more than 1.5 billion times and is, therefore, eligible for damages of $1 billion.
Google, in their defense, would like to use the 1998 DMCA ruling which said that sites and operators shall not be held liable for content which is out of their control, as long as it is removed upon request, but this suit may land a new ruling which will get into the history.
This morning, Business Week wrote that they do not believe that YouTube will end like another Napster simply because of Google’s reputation and and ability to defend itself in a more powerful manner than Napster at the time.
Either way, this can evolve into a very interesting item in the near future.
LOL. I’m glad someone is finally going after them. Google has been way to cocky for too long.
I am concerned over the precedent that a Viacom win over Google would establish. A legal precedent from a big (or even little) win could put the online video market into a tailspin.
I would think that Viacom would not want to kill the “goose that laid the golden egg.” I agree with Chad too, in that Google has botched a bunch of stuff lately. I did a post about them suing the poor Polish Poets and now they are being hammered. Must be karma.
Phil Butler