Since buying YouTube for $1.76 million in 2006, Google have rarely been out of the limelight when it come to copywright disputes and legal actions regarding the market leading online video sharing site. Now, Viacom, one of the largest media companies in the world, have decided that the only course of action following its insistence that Google remove some 100,000 copyrighted videos is a hefty lawsuit seeking $1 billion in damages.
The majority of media broadcasters, including the likes of CBS and the BBC, have reached agreements with YouTube to supply authorised clips. Viacom have repeatedly insisted that Google strip some 100,000 clips of unauthorised material from the site, including clips from their VH1, MTV and Comedy Central networks. It is reported that, since Viacom's original demand made earlier this year, some 50,000 extra Viacom group clips are now on the site. It appears users are uploading clips faster than YouTube can remove them.
The crux of the Viacom lawsuit is not just the clips themselves; it's the provision of technology that enables users to upload their own unauthorised clips easily and freely. Viacom highlighted its anger with a stern copyright infringement press release, which states:
"[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. In fact, YouTube's strategy has been to avoid taking proactive steps to curtail the infringement on its site, thus generating significant traffic and revenues for itself"
YouTube have always maintained that it respects the rights of copyrighted content, insisting that its service should be a real opportunity to broadcasters and not a model for lost revenue. Indeed, several high profile partnerships in recent months have signified that the majority of broadcasters have come round to the fact that the acquisition of YouTube by Google is a real chance to align themselves with the young, web-savvy generation and move away from an image of safe programming and traditional satellite or cable TV delivery services.
Several analysts speculate that, after the initial media hype following the lawsuit, YouTube and Viacom will reach an agreement that doesn't require the intervention of the courts to decide the future of any possible YouTube-Viacom partnership. With so many media conglomerates seemingly happy to jump on the YouTube bandwagon in an industry that still appears to be very much in infancy, it's hard to see how Viacom could miss out on such a large potential revenue opportunity.
