The entertainment and internet conglomerate Viacom has filed a lawsuit against Google-owned YouTube, demanding a payment of one billion dollars, accusing it of repeated copyright infringement.
This producer of popular television programs, including South Park, has stated that YouTube is guilty of mass intentional copyright infringement. In the lawsuit filed in federal court in New York, Viacom claims that YouTube has shown brazen disregard for copyright law and has consciously chosen not to take reasonable precautions to deter mass infringement of rights on its site.
This is the most serious lawsuit filed against YouTube since Google acquired it for $1.65 billion last year. The website allows users to upload and share videos. Although most of the content offered comes from home productions and is not protected by copyright, there are also millions of recordings that contain parts of television programs and films protected by copyright law, uploaded to the site. Google stated in its press release that it has not received the lawsuit, but reiterated that YouTube respects the legal rights of copyright holders and is confident that the court will agree.
The lawsuit followed after the two parties failed to reach an agreement on payment terms for Viacom’s videos or their removal from the site. Viacom announced that YouTube users had uploaded unauthorized videos from various of its television programs. (H)
