Google, YouTube almost in the Clear
July 7, 2009 by Mark Ellis
Filed under Business
Google seems to be a lightning rod for legal disputes nowadays, most recently coming into the legal limelight because of its ambitious book database project. However, Google, as well as its popular video-sharing website YouTube.com, have been absolved of several damages claims in several copyright infringement cases.
This ruling, however, only applies to U.S. damages claims, leaving the possibility wide open for foreign copyright holders to claim damages from Google. Viacom Inc. had made a case earlier against Google for similar damage claims but the judge rules then as he ruled now, barring all claims.
Another door that is left wide open for those seeking at least some sort of restitution from Google involves statutory damage claims by those hosting live events that end up on YouTube. Live event promoters and all those involved could also see restitution of their profit losses, an amount that could end up somewhere in the billions of dollars.
Image: Flickr
