Viacom Sues Google For $1 Billion Over Unauthorized Videos
Mar 13, 2007 at 9:54am ET by Barry Schwartz
Viacom in $1 bln copyright suit vs Google, YouTube from Reuters reports that Viacom Inc. has confirmed they will be suing Google over “massive intentional copyright infringement” for $1 billion. The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, after claiming “a great deal of unproductive negotiation” with Google lead them to this action. See Techmeme here for related coverage.
Postscript: Showbiz’s site fright at Variety.com shows the recent love-hate relationship Hollywood has towards YouTube.
Postscript 2: We have just received a statement from Google:
We have not received the lawsuit but are confident that YouTube has respected the legal rights of copyright holders and believe the courts will agree. YouTube is great for users and offers real opportunities to rights holders: the opportunity to interact with users; to promote their content to a young and growing audience; and to tap into the online advertising market. We will certainly not let this suit become a distraction to the continuing growth and strong performance of YouTube and its ability to attract more users, more traffic and build a stronger community.
Postscript 3: Viacom posted the official release for the suit.
Share, Bookmark & Discuss This Article
More:
Keep Updated: News Via Email | News Via RSS Feed | News Via Twitter
See more stories like this in the Members Library! Check out the Google: Legal, Google: YouTube & Video, Legal: Copyright sections of the Members Library where this story is filed. Members also get access to exclusive video content, a members-only weekly & monthly newsletter, plus more. Check out all the benefits!
2 COMMENTS ON Viacom Sues Google For $1 Billion Over Unauthorized Videos
TOP STORIES
SEARCH NEWS BRIEFS
FEATURES & ANALYSIS
RECENT COMMNENTS
- Buy Advertising said " I've been experimenting with the merger of advertising and entertainment. I think that it can be bot"
- nickstamoulis said " Wow, this is very interesting, I was not aware of the the Google Books case at all, I will be sure t"
- nickstamoulis said " These are all very cool, my personal favorite 4th logo is the Ask.com layout, it is very creative!"
FREE DAILY SEARCH NEWS RECAP!
Stay on top of all the search news with our daily summary, the SearchCap newsletter. View a sample ›
STAY CURRENT THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Search Engine Land produces SMX, the Search Marketing Expo conference series. SMX events deliver the most comprehensive educational and networking experiences - whether you're just starting in search marketing or you're a seasoned expert.
SMX Web Site » | SMX Difference » | SMX News »
Join us at an upcoming SMX event:
- SMX Singapore - July 2-3, 2009
- SMX São Paulo - August 4-5
- SMX East - October 5-7, 2009
- SMX Stockholm - 12-13 October, 2009
- SMX Mexico - November 11, 2009
Learn more about search marketing with our free online webcasts and webinars from our sister site, Search Marketing Now. Upcoming online events include:
- How Large Offline Marketers Drive Superior Search Marketing Results - July 21, 2009
- Trademarks, Brand Terms and PPC Advertising: Updates You Must Know - July
22, 2009
- Attribution Management Buyers Guide - July 28, 2009
TRACK US SOCIALLY
- Wall Street Journal Recommended Reading
- Ad Age Power 150 Blog
- Technorati Top 100 Blog
- Techmeme Leaderboard Source
- Best Search Engine Community/Forum
Featured sites from our Blogroll
- nathan buggia
- The Online Marketing Guy
- Search Marketing Gurus | Online Marketing Advice, Tips & Strategies for SEO, PPC, Social Media, PR on the Web & Much More
- Apple Pie & Custard
- Ramblings About SEO
Get Your Search Engine Land
Premium Membership!
Become a premium member today and receive:
- Express commenting privileges & photo.
- Exclusive videos & newsletters.
- Discounts to our SMX conferences.
- Access to "How To" & Other Archives.
© 2009 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Google, Yahoo & Microsoft logos trademark respective companies and used with permission.
And well they should as I believe Google wouldn’t hesitate to sue them if the situation were reversed.
The most galling thing about this suit is its claim that most of YouTube’s $1.65B value comes from Viacom clips.
That’s just ridiculous. Viacom itself claims only 100,000 clips. YouTube hosts two million new clips per month.