I honestly see this as a good thing - Google is just the company that can take this type of stupid suing on and win. Here's to (hopefully) much more content sharing!
David On 3/13/07, Heath <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Check it > > http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17592285/ > > I mean seriously, 1 billion dollars?!?! Give me a freaking > break...I worry about the future I really do....I mean yeah, they > have got content but 1 billion?!? Get real..... > > Interesting that this announcement comes on the heals of Viacom > saying that they are going to create a site where people > can "leagaly" mash up their work.......Ah...corprate politics at it's > finest..... > > NEW YORK - MTV owner Viacom Inc. said Tuesday it has sued YouTube and > its corporate parent Google Inc. in federal court for alleged > copyright infringement and is seeking more than $1 billion in damages. > > Viacom claims that the more than 160,000 unauthorized video clips > from its cable networks, which also include Comedy Central, VH1 and > Nickelodeon, have been available on the popular video-sharing Web > site. > > The lawsuit marks a sharp escalation of long-simmering tensions > between Viacom and YouTube. Last month Viacom demanded that YouTube > remove more than 100,000 unauthorized clips after several months of > talks between the companies broke down. > > In a statement, Viacom lashed out at YouTube's business practices, > saying it has "built a lucrative business out of exploiting the > devotion of fans to others' creative works in order to enrich itself > and its corporate parent Google." > > Viacom said YouTube's business model, "which is based on building > traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly > illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws." > > A representative for Google didn't immediately respond to a request > for comment. > > Other media companies have also clashed with YouTube over copyrights, > but some, including CBS Corp. and General Electric Co.'s NBC > Universal, have reached deals with the video-sharing site to license > their material. > > Universal Music Group, a unit of France's Vivendi SA, had threatened > to sue YouTube, saying it was a hub for pirated music videos, but > later reached a licensing deal with them. > > Viacom filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern > District of New York and is also seeking an injunction prohibiting > Google and YouTube from using its clips. > > Heath > http://batmangeek7.blogspot.com > > > -- David King davidleeking.com - blog http://davidleeking.com/etc - videoblog [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
