Viacom’s Copyright Suit Against Google’s YouTube Reinstated

[alp227]

Source: Bloomberg

Google Inc. (GOOG)’s YouTube video-sharing website must defend itself against claims that it violated Viacom Inc. (VIAB)’s copyrights by letting users post clips from shows including “The Colbert Report” without authorization, an appeals court ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan today reversed a lower court’s decision to throw out the case before trial. The lower-court judge had said YouTube was protected from liability because it removed infringing videos when notified.

“A reasonable jury could find that YouTube had actual knowledge or awareness of specific infringing activity on its website,” a two-judge panel said in a 39-page decision.

Viacom sued in 2007, seeking $1 billion in damages and claiming that YouTube users were illegally uploading thousands of videos of Viacom television programs, such as “South Park” and “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” and movies from its Paramount Pictures studio.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-05/google-s-youtube-must-defend-viacom-suit-appeals-court-says-1-.html

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Viacom properties (like The Daily Show and Colbert Report) have their own video services online and thus want the traffic.

[Galraedia]

1. Try posting a video of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Youtube...

and watch how quickly it gets taken down.

[MADem]

2. Fucking dinks--don't they understand the concept of free advertising?

Why can't they work with--rather than fight with?

[socialindependocrat]

3. If you write a book and reference someone else's work

it's o.k. to use as long as you give credit to the originator.

Why isn't it the same here?

[alp227]

5. that situation is not comparable,

as those books only use excerpts or paraphrases of other works, as compared with the situation Viacom is angry over, YouTube hosting content that Viacom already hosts thus diverting profit away from Viacom.

[bl968]

4. Youtube should make a fair use defense on the behalf of their users

They are ignoring the fact that a short 2-4 minute segment of a 30-60 minute show would likely be considered fair use if reviewed by a judge. This should be one of the defenses that youtube uses.

We are a facilitator of the public right of Fair Use your honor. The individual uploaders videos clips are protected by the very copyright laws that the content industry is trying to turn against us. We take prompt action whenever we receive reports of copyright infringement, however we are not in a position to substitute the wishes of the copyright owners for total control, against the clear right of the Internet users under copyright law to make unauthorized use of their content. Here at Youtube we try to strike the same balance that your honor would face when presented with a case of copyright infringement.

Here is the system we have in place for dealing with reports of copyright abuse... Here are the laws that authorize us to use this system...

That would leave the judge with one choice when Youtube files for summary judgment, "Case dismissed"

[saras]

6. Viacom will happily sell you 30-second videos to assert that 30 seconds is too long for fair use