Viacom files $1 billion copyright infringement suit against Google
Viacom, the giant owner of video content, has sued YouTube and Google for “massive intentional copyright infringement” of Viacom’s properties.
It is one of the biggest challenges yet to what content owners say is a foot-dragging policy by Google when it comes to respecting copyrights.
The suit seeks more than $1 billion in damages, as well as an injunction prohibiting Google and its property, YouTube, from further copyright infringement. The complaint says almost 160,000 unauthorized clips of Viacom’s programming have been available on YouTube and that these clips had been viewed more than 1.5 billion times.
The suit is significant because it puts significant pressure on Google to either comply quickly or fight the challenge in court. By fighting, Google could argue that YouTube’s current policy, of taking down video only after it gets complaints from owners, is compatible with the law.
Viacom continues to strike deals with other players, such as Joost, to allow them to license Viacom’s content. Google has said it will soon introduce filtering technology to avoid pirated videos from being submitted at YouTube, but it has yet to do so.
The longer it waits, the bigger YouTube’s lead appears to get in the video sharing industry.
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About the Author, Matt Marshall
Matt launched VentureBeat in September of 2006, with the realization that no one else was covering the entrepreneurial and tech innovation scene with the velocity or depth that he was. Prior to founding VentureBeat, he covered venture capital for the San Jose Mercury News from 2001 to 2006. In 2002, Matt was awarded "Journalist of the Year" by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to working at the Merc, he was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Bonn, Germany from 1995 to 1998, and a writer for the Washington Post in 1994. Matt holds a PhD in Government and an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University. In addition to VentureBeat, Matt is also the Executive Producer of DEMO, the leading launchpad event for emerging technologies.
