[LINK] YouTube wins copyright challenge
Jan Whitaker
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
Thu Jun 24 19:34:18 AEST 2010
YouTube copyright suit thrown out
June 24, 2010 - 11:18AM
A US judge Wednesday threw out a copyright lawsuit filed against
YouTube by US entertainment giant Viacom, handing the Google-owned
video site a major legal victory in a closely watched case.
US movie and television giant Viacom sued Google and YouTube for a
billion dollars in March 2007, arguing that they condoned pirated
video clips at the website to boost its popularity.
The lawsuit was merged with a similar complaint being pursued by the
English Premier League, which said football clips were also routinely
posted on YouTube without authorisation.
US District Court Judge Louis Stanton said in his 30-page ruling that
YouTube was protected against Viacom's claims of "massive copyright
infringement" by provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The 1998 legislation provides protection for internet firms from
copyright violations by their users, and the judge ruled that
YouTube's actions, such as quickly removing infringing videos when
requested, were in line with the act.
Google welcomed the ruling, while Viacom vowed to appeal.
"This is an important victory not just for us, but also for the
billions of people around the world who use the Web to communicate
and share experiences with each other," Google general counsel Kent
Walker said in a blog post.
"The decision follows established judicial consensus that online
services like YouTube are protected when they work cooperatively with
copyright holders to help them manage their rights online," Walker said.
Viacom general counsel Michael Fricklas said the company was
"disappointed with the judge's ruling, but confident we will win on appeal.
"Copyright protection is essential to the survival of creative
industries," he said. "It is and should be illegal for companies to
build their businesses with creative material they have stolen from others.
"This case has always been about whether intentional theft of
copyrighted works is permitted under existing law and we always knew
that the critical underlying issue would need to be addressed by
courts at the appellate levels," he said.
"Today's decision accelerates our opportunity to do so."
Viacom's suit charged that YouTube was a willing accomplice to
"massive copyright infringement" and sought more than one billion
dollars in damages.
Viacom's film and television empire includes many youth-oriented
networks like MTV and VH1, popular comedy shows such as Jon Stewart's
"The Daily Show" and the Paramount movie studio.
YouTube was a year-old internet sensation when Google bought it in a
US$1.65 billion ($1.88 billion) stock deal in 2006.
Public Knowledge, a Washington-based digital rights group, and the
Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) welcomed the ruling.
"We are very pleased with the outcome of this case," said Sherwin
Siy, deputy legal director of Public Knowledge. "It shows that the
current structure of copyright law works well for even the largest of
content-hosting sites.
"As we have continually said, the burden to point out allegations of
infringement is with the content provider, and the burden of taking
down material lies with the service provider.
"Had Viacom won this case, that burden would have shifted
dramatically," Siy said. "As the law now stands, prompt compliance
with take-down notices shields an online service provider from liability."
"Today's decision isn't just about YouTube," said CDT senior policy
counsel David Sohn. "Without this decision, user generated content
would dry up and the Internet would cease to be a participatory medium."
AFP
This story was found at:
http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/youtube-copyright-suit-thrown-out-20100624-z0da.html
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer
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