Viacom Sues Google for 1.B

Viacom Sues Google for 1.B

biz.yahoo.com

Viacom claims that YouTube has displayed nearly 160,000 unauthorized video clips from its cable networks, which also include Comedy Central, VH1 and Nickelodeon.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, marks a sharp escalation of long-simmering tensions between Viacom and YouTube and represents the biggest confrontation to date between a major media company and the hugely popular video-sharing site, which Google bought in November for $1.76 billion.

(visit the link for the full news article)

There goes you tube was fun while it lasted!

biz.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Actualy, every Viacom based clip thats uploaded to Youtube is removed in record times these days.

Google or Youtube have no way of controlling what is uploaded and they have no duty to require approval of any and all uploaded clips.

Not to mention Viacom is backward and complete idiots for taking this route. They get loads and loads of free advertisement from youtube and such because of these clips and the route they are taking now is really really bad publicity.

I know of several networks (including FOX for crying out loud) that know and love the free advertisement aspect.

They aim to sell series and shows internationaly and these clips posted all over the place are perfect and completely free WORLDWIDE advertisement.

Alot of them have also opted to cheaply license the content from their networks to youtube.

[edit on 13/3/07 by thematrix]

meh, i dont care about the reason,

google being sued makes me happy

sorry personal grudge aginst google

Is it possible that this is also a way to enforce censorship and exercise some control over media footage over the internet?

Google is becoming a serious contender among the megacorps. But their power doesn't lie with media or money, it's with information. Possessing or accessing as much information as possible and making it available to anyone with network access. This has never even been conceivable until the past decade. If they can survive the barrage of assaults coming to them, they could become a force the human race has never known.

IMO Google was stupid to buy youtube. It was / is a walking lawsuit timebomb. Buying such a lawsuit prone company when you are awash in cash just makes you a big fat juicy target for the lawyers. They should have seen this coming miles away and stayed away from it.

Originally posted by apc
Google is becoming a serious contender among the megacorps. But their power doesn't lie with media or money, it's with information. Possessing or accessing as much information as possible and making it available to anyone with network access. This has never even been conceivable until the past decade. If they can survive the barrage of assaults coming to them, they could become a force the human race has never known.

If you become a "contender" by bascially stealing other peoples information, then it should be prepared to face the legality of that. Google had to know sooner or later they would get sued big time by the multimedia conglomerates.

I have a feeling they knew exactly what they were doing and exactly what to expect. Google is basically Nerd, Inc. They plan ahead.