Editor's Note: After an exclusive interview with Viacom's legal team, David discovers that this case, unlike many other high profile/high dollar cases, seems destined for decision by the courts and not by settlement. The outcome of Viacom's case against Google/YouTube could have huge implications for the future of the Internet. Who do you think builds the stronger case? Let us know in the comments section.
As we dug a little more into the persistent kerfuffle between Viacom and Google over YouTube, we found little reason to expect a resolution of the case before next year, at the earliest. Google generally fights its battles in court, and Viacom believes the nature of its lawsuit against YouTube puts it in a stronger position to win.
Win what, you might wonder. Usage of content, including its reposting on the Internet, represents a way for people to share what they enjoy. Viacom told WebProNews that's not a problem, as long as a site purchases a license to do that, as some have.
Not everyone has, of course, and that combined with the constant stream of uploading taking place created a situation where Internet users clash with old ideas about content and sharing. YouTube made it easy for the next generation to swap the 21st Century equivalent of the mix tape with others, but on a one-to-many rather than one-to-one basis.
The merits of fair use bear further discussion; we recommend Stanford and Darknet as a couple of places to look for more legal facts and for opinions, respectively.
Viacom's dispute with YouTube merits a small review, which we'll make an effort at delivering here. The suit originated with a six-count claim against YouTube's deep-pocketed purchaser, Google, in March 2007.
Viacom opened eyes with its billion dollar demand, one the company feels is justified based on the investment Google made to acquire YouTube. What started ostensibly as a place to share amateur videos taken with portable devices grew into a phenomenon; YouTube has become a fixture in modern society.
The mechanisms that make it easy to share video, Viacom said, also enable the rampant copyright infringement the media company believes it suffers in damages. Viacom attempted to assert punitive damages on top of its original claims, a motion Judge Louis Stanton in US District Court in New York (Southern District) denied in March 2008.
In Viacom's eyes, the infringement process works like this: Someone goes to YouTube and uploads a video. There's a copy of the work, as it is recoded into codecs that can be embedded and streamed elsewhere.
See that thumbnail of a copyrighted video? Display rights violation. Click the display to watch the video? Performance rights violation.
For Viacom to win out over YouTube, they only need to convince the court on one of the counts they claim. YouTube has to defend against everything.
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