Viacom Slaps Google With $1 billion Lawsuit
written by John Chow on March 13th, 2007
Justin just sent me this CNN link with a Reuters story about Viacom slapping Google with a $1 billion lawsuit. That’s a lot of zeros!
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. said Tuesday it filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Google Inc.and its Internet video sharing site YouTube over unauthorized use of its copyrighted entertainment.
The suit accuses Web search leader Google and YouTube of “massive intentional copyright infringement” of Viacom’s entertainment assets and seeks an injunction against further violations.
Read the full story at CNN. I wonder how Google will respond?
- Posted in Technology
- 104 comments what's your take?
Related posts from the blog
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Wow.. Seems like Google is getting itself into a huge pile of potential debt. With so many clips, it is impossible for Google to deny the their existence. I wonder if Google will attempt to sue the uploaders in a move as well?
Reply to this commentNaa that would be counter productive and they would never be able to prove a given person uploaded, IMO
Reply to this commentI’m sure Google will remove all of the video’s or, somehow require the rights: $$$$
Reply to this commenti wonder if they regret buying youtube
Reply to this commentNo, they don’t nor will they. This is no surprise to them. It will boil down to an out of court settlement that will benefit both. This and other lawsuits like it were seen a mile away and preparations were made.
Much like the iPhone name controversy. Full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
Reply to this commentThere’s a great idea. Sue the people who are giving you free publicity for your shows!!!
Reply to this commentWow. Sue the uploaders? I hadn’t thought of it. Seems like it would be a huge cost (lawyers and courts) to get small returns (ie. my piddly bank accounts). I’d be surprised to see that happening.
Reply to this commentMaybe, but probably not. I imagine they know this will take years to sort out and during that time they will be making money.
Reply to this commentInteresting. Google really had it coming by buying out Youtube.
Reply to this commentI think it was a good purchase, it has huge potential, they are only scratching the surface at the moment.
Reply to this commentVery true, as bandwidth increases, so will the number of videos on the net!
Reply to this commentYeah, but everyone saw the danger coming so they must have as well. I’m sure they knew what they were doing and have been expecting this.
Reply to this commentOh I think they know exactly what they are doing. It wasn’t like this was a surprise.
Reply to this commentMassive YouTube censorship and restriction of copyrighted content coming soon to a browser near you!
Reply to this commentYeah looks that way, then again, Microsoft never split after the Netscape debacle did it?
Reply to this commentIs this the demise of the Tube?!
Reply to this comment7 words and shrinking
If were comment whores, Lyndon must be the pimp
Reply to this comment
Is that the minimum then: 7 words per post?
Reply to this commentDemise of YouTube?
You’re joking right?
Reply to this commentNo way. Not after G just dropped 1.6B on that purchase. YouTube isn’t going anywhere. I’d guess it’d become more and more commercialized instead.
Reply to this commentNo it is just the start. Just imagine if Google wins, what YouTube will become. More likely they will settle or the laws will be changed or something.
Reply to this commentWe knew the lawsuits would start rolling in eventually
But who is to blame here? The users of the site who have uploaded the videos or Google for hosting the videos on their servers?
Reply to this commentThat’s the same question that Napster fought and lost!
Reply to this commentIt’s the network’s fault for not realizing that they need to start embedding advertisements into the shows so that when people distribute them, the advertisers can still be happy with their ad purchase!
Reply to this commentThat was one of the founding principles of YouTube: no adds. If content providers embedded ads, users would find a way to post videos with them!
We am 5mart!!1!
Reply to this commentThe ads need to be part of the shows. Like product placements.
Reply to this commentahhh…fond memories of Napster
Reply to this comment“I wonder if Google will attempt to sue the uploaders in a move as well?”
Google wouldn’t sue the uploaders, they’re the bread and butter of the YouTube model. I don’t think much is going to happen, they can remove the videos per requested under the Safe Harbor provisions of the DMCA and are not held liable for the actions of their users. On the other hand, Viacom could request YouTube to identify (e-mail, IP, etc.) who the uploaders are and then sue them (like the RIAA does). In any case, Viacom should be looking for a rev-share deal with YouTube instead of trying to force users to consume their media elsewhere.
Reply to this commentYouTube will not sue their users, which would be stupid. YouTube will say they really try hard to remove copyrighted content, and most content will be removed within x amount of time, and if you contact youtube, they will remove it in 10mins or less… etc. That’s all they can do, for the most part….
Reply to this commentI bet they dont know how to track most of them down, what do they have, a mail address, not sure thats enough to make anything stick, its up to them to police the site and ban users…
Reply to this commentThey don’t have that info, but your ISP does. YouTube has your MAC address, IP address and the date you uploaded the video.
Reply to this commentUm. How would YouTube have your MAC address?
Reply to this commentThis is why Mark Cuban has been really against YouTube (or Gootube as he calls it) because of all the copyright infringement that built it into what it is today.
I’m interested to see how this plays out, because I can see both sides of it.
Reply to this commentThat is a lot of zero’s, I wonder how they came up with that figure??
There is a lot of copyright material on there. Its a bit unfair though, youTube could actually increase sales of the genuine article, if people like the clip. Still Google is a cash cow and they should have seen this coming.
Reply to this commentI’m sure it’s that large mostly to get attention.
Reply to this commentI doubt it was for the attention…
Reply to this commentseriously . . a settlement’s coming behind closed doors. We’re not going to be talking about this in a couple of days!
Reply to this commentSo true…We won’t be hearing anything of it soon…
Reply to this commentGood point. Do they think they would have made an additional 1billion dollars if You Tube didn’t exist?
Reply to this commentMark Cuban is a smart guy on some things, but man has he made some bad decisions along the way. I’m thinking of a bad, bad reality show Mr. Cuban had once…
Reply to this comment
With all the smart folks at google…I would think they would see this coming.
Reply to this commentDoes that mean, they really like to play with fire?
Reply to this commentActually they did see this coming and had part of the money paid to the original YouTube owners set aside for fighting these type of lawsuits.
Reply to this commentYeah, I would imagine that this was a thought!
Reply to this commentOh I’m sure they did see this coming. It wasn’t a surprise.
Reply to this commentI honestly don’t see the big deal. There are only short clips of TV shows, trailers, sports highlights and music videos on YouTube. Personally, I think this will blow up in Viacom’s face just like how shutting down file sharing is impossible for the RIAA.
However, the good move for Google would probably be to settle at a much smaller amount. Other broadcasting and media companies are starting to see the potential and popularity of YouTube…it’s only a matter of time really.
Reply to this commentThis is interesting. I really can’t wait to see the outcome, since this could be another ploy for advertisement for viacomm. But I could be wrong.
Reply to this commentgoogle is a giant, is a “standard” in this days. I doubt this will become the news of the year. Google will for sure do a deal with this guys (and others) and everything will be allright in the end of the battle.
Reply to this commentIf we think a little, this kind of news and battles, brind more attention to youtube, more and more traffic, more AD sales, more revenues…google is allways winning.
It would be a big deal to you, if it was your content! There are entire episodes on the Tube!
Reply to this commentI agree. It’s low quality, short portions of bigger things. If anything they spark people’s interest and make them want to check it out more.
Reply to this commentI am sure that Google wont have a problem with this one, but it’s fun to see how the Google stock trembles.
Reply to this commentWhat happens now? Does that mean it has already started to tremble?
Reply to this commentDon’t count with that.
Reply to this commentI haven’t heard any news of the stocks weakening. I guess it will only suffer a blow IF Viacom succeeds in their case.
Reply to this commentGoogle’s stock has such a long way to go before it starts to hurt.
Reply to this commentViacom needs something right now. Might as well sue the most popular video site on the planet.
Reply to this commentYou think this is a way to make up for the whole Boston “Terror” plot?
Reply to this commentWell, that’s the only way to grab some real attention for them now..
Reply to this commentI thought a post on my blog that linked to this post will automatically show up here. It turned out there is some delay.
Could that because John needs to approve it first? 
Reply to this commentor the askimet plugin has stoped your trackback has spam, unfortunally sometimes that happen. And then only john can de-spam the trackback.
Reply to this commentNo, it’s shown up: http://www.johnchow.com/viacom-slaps-google-with-1-billion-lawsuit/#comment-52282
Reply to this commentOh, okay. That means for a busy site like this, it would take time before being shown here. At least, if I were Joh, I would have a hard time to follow, ehm, all this “dedicated comments,” particularly from you or me.
Reply to this commentI urge y’all to read Larry Lessig’s blog post about this. He provides some commentary on why Viacom is going after Google/YouTube instead of just lobbying Congress like they’ve done in the past.
Reply to this commentGoogle has plenty of $ and they will eventually work out some sort of deal where both parties are happy.
Reply to this commentThis is a huge bonehead move on Viacom’s part. They are suing the very company that gives them all the free advertising for their product that they could ask for and then some.
Reply to this commentIt was posted upthread, and I agree, that the best thing for companies to do is to leverage Youtube for the networking phenom that it is…don’t try to buck the trend, use it to your advantage.
Maybe I should work in the marketing dept. at Viacom?
I agree it’s the best thing to do (leveraging the Youtube network) BUT you only have to look over to the music industry to see that they will sue, sue and sue until they have no choice but to join their supposed enemy.
Some of the smartest business minds teach us to embrace change or get left behind, yet you’ve got some major entities trying to live in the old days (like whenever music labels had their peak? whenever the only place to watch a movie was down the road at this ‘cinema’?) and fight the natural progression they cannot stop.
Evil men like John Chow, smart Australians like Mitchell Harper and YOU who read this blog to learn and be like them, are perfect examples of changing to embrace the situation.
Reply to this commentThe problem is that there are entire episodes on The Tube!
Reply to this commentIt is a matter that will happen sooner or later, just that Viacom has taken a lead on a pretty big lawsuit. Who knows? Others are just waiting and banking on the outcome.
Reply to this commentThey need to take the same approach as NBC, CBS and the others: Upload the content yourself so you can guarantee quality and whatever else you want.
Reply to this commentYeah, and it makes them look like jerks. Just like back when Metallica pulled this same type of stunt. Pissed a lot of people off just like this is doing.
Reply to this commentI think Viacom is just out for a free payday. All they are doing is giving Youtube and Google more press time. Its funny how they feel exploited and they have problem made more money since Youtube has been in existence
Reply to this commentTyler and Kubiac, you guys hited the point! that’s it, all of this it’s just “show-off”, and bring attention to viacom, google and youtube (free press advertising).
Reply to this commentI’m not convinced that they expect to win. They are probably looking for a settlement of some type.
Reply to this commentbankrupt google!
take em down a billion at a time
Reply to this commentlol, I still want my search engine!
Reply to this commentMe too, I live on Google and rely on so many of their services - why to people hate them so much? Because they are successful? Because their products work? Because it’s free?
Reply to this commentSame here, google is my homepage, my search engine, my maps, almost my everything on the net…except my many frequented blogs…
Reply to this commentIs the the beginning of end of web 2.0 bubble?
Reply to this commentI would not count on it.
Reply to this commentYES!
YES!
YES!
I love shorting google.
Reply to this commentWhy? What is so wrong with Google?
Reply to this commentGoogle scares me. People used to go on and on about Microsoft ruling the digital world. But these days I think Google is the one that’s going to be in charge of things real soon.
Reply to this commentGoogle’s response should be simple enough. I see your billion dollars and raise you and “anything” Viacom related being completely delisted from Google.
That would shut Viacom up fast if they had any brains about them. If you don’t exist on Google, you don’t exist. Shutter their asses back to the stone age and see how they like it. Google has a huge hammer it can wield if it so chooses.
Reply to this commentI agree. Blacklisting them from Google searches. I have heard that this dealt a major impact for several companies online.
Reply to this commentSorry guys, but that would never happen. Just imagine the bad press Google would get if they did that!
Reply to this commentThat is actually a pretty funny idea, but it would hurt Google in the long run.
Reply to this commentWHAT?!? That’s crap. Go after the people that are putting it up there.
Reply to this commentThat may be the outcome of this lawsuit more than anything else.
Reply to this commentWhen there are company that have success, their must ready from outside the world problem
Reply to this commentInteresting suit, and I’m not surprised. But Google won’t sue the uploaders; they’re obviously the meat and potatoes of the YouTube environment.
All in all, I’m not certain this lawsuit will amount to too much in and of itself. Most likely, Google will remove the videos in accordance with the DMCA Safe Harbor Provisions and won’t be held legally liable.
However, Viacom could actually request that YouTube identify the email addresses and IP addresses of those who illegally uploaded the Viacom material, and sue them - like the Recording Industry Association of America does.
However, I, myself, see there to be much better and more profitable ways in which to go about this. Let’s see if they can find those ways on their own.
Shine on,
Reply to this commentAaron
“Viacom” is still showing up as the first search listing on Google, be interesting to see if they lower it down to the Supplemental Result area.
Reply to this commentIf they knock it out of the rankings just because of the lawsuit it would be very bad for Google because of other lawsuits.
Reply to this commentIt looks like google has a challenge!!
Reply to this commenthey john, maybe the shares of google will go down and sally will b able to buy a few of them!
Reply to this commentThis is probably one of those “it was only a matter of time” things. Be interesting to see how the result pans out.
Reply to this commentI’m guessing it was expected.
Reply to this commentWhat a crock. How can they justify 1B in losses??
Reply to this commentI think this is more about public opinion and policy.
Reply to this commentYou had to see this coming - Google must get about 100 lawsuits a day.
Reply to this commentwoop dee doo, this is pocket change for google
Reply to this commentis this because of youtube?
Reply to this commentthis does sound a lot like the same thing napster went through
Reply to this commentBut Google has much deeper pockets.
Reply to this comment