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Viacom Sues Google Over YouTube Video Clips
Google and Viacom headquarters. Viacom has feuded publicly with YouTube and its parent Google about the unauthorized posting of its programming online.By JEREMY W. PETERS
Viacom, the parent company of MTV and Comedy Central, sued Google and YouTube in federal court today, citing “massive intentional copyright infringement.”
Viacom, which has feuded publicly with YouTube and its parent Google about the unauthorized posting of its programming online, said it was seeking more than $1 billion in damages. Viacom’s suit is the most aggressive move so far by an old-line media company against the highly popular but legally questionable practice of posting copyrighted media content online.
In its complaint, filed with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Viacom accused YouTube of a “brazen disregard” for the law. “YouTube has harnessed technology to willfully infringe copyrights on a huge scale, depriving writers, composers and performers of the rewards they are owed.”
Google responded today, issuing a statement saying it was undaunted by the lawsuit and “confident that YouTube has respected the legal rights of copyright holders.” It added, “We will certainly not let this suit become a distraction to the continuing growth and strong performance of YouTube.”
The suit is the latest scuffle between YouTube and Viacom. Last month, Viacom demanded that YouTube remove more than 100,000 clips of its programming. YouTube complied, and in some cases posted a disclaimer that read: “removed at the request of Viacom International” where Viacom material once was.
Viacom said today that nearly 160,000 clips of its programming have been available on YouTube and that they had been viewed more than 1.5 billion times.
Before Viacom ordered YouTube to take down the video, the two had been working toward an agreement. Many of Viacom’s shows like Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and MTV’s stable of reality television programs are highly popular with the YouTube demographic and are potentially worth a large sum if licensed to an online video service. But the two companies have been unable to reach a deal.
Viacom’s suit acknowledges the value of its programming to YouTube, noting that its content “acts as a substantial draw, attracting users to the website.”
YouTube is supported by advertising, but in most cases it does not share that revenue with copyright holders. It has been pursuing licensing agreements with other major American media companies but has so far been unable to do so, though it is forming partnerships with hundreds of smaller media companies.
