Google Says Viacom Suit Threatens Internet

As Viacom's $1 billion copyright infringement suit against Google heats up, Google claims the move threatens the way hundreds of millions legitimately use the Internet.

Remember Viacom’s $1 billion copyright infringement suit against Google, claiming video sharing site YouTube consistently enabled users to post unauthorized copies of Viacom content—like clips from South Park and The Daily Show? The case has been pending for over a year, but a new round of filings is ratcheting up the tension between the companies, and may indicate hopes for an amicable settlement are dwindling. In documents filed with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Google is asserting that YouTube "goes far beyond its legal obligations" in enabling copyright owners to flag infringing content—and, moreover, that Viacom’s action to make hosting services liable for infringing content "threatens the way hundreds of millions of people legitimately exchange information."

Viacom filed a rewritten version of its suit last month, although the core of its complaint remains unaltered. The giant media company alleges YouTube consistently allows unauthorized uploads of Viacom programming and movies to be distributed via the site, which infringes on Viacom’s copyright and dilutes the value of the content to Viacom’s advertisers and partners. The company says it has identified more than 150,000 unauthorized clips of Viacom content on YouTube. Viacom maintains that Google has done "little or nothing" to cut back on these infringements, and that the availability of infringing material is a "cornerstone" of YouTube’s business.

Google, for its part, says that YouTube has complied with the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, noting that the statute explicitly protects service and hosting providers as long as they remove infringing content in response to copyright owners’ claims of infringement. Google also says YouTube practically bends over backwards to help content owners protect their works, offering tools and reporting mechanisms so content owners can quickly flag infringing video and have it removed from the service. Google has also been very clear that it has no intention of paying off Viacom in a settlement agreement, with Google’s VP of partnerships David Eun recently saying, "We’re going all the way to the Supreme Court."