Google has gained a victory in its long-standing $1 billion copyright battle with Viacom. A federal judge granted Google’s motion for a summary judgment in Viacom’s lawsuit involving YouTube.
The judge’s ruling Wednesday means the court has decided YouTube is protected by the
safe-harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against claims of copyright infringement. This is in line with the established judicial consensus that online services are protected when they work cooperatively with copyright holders to help manage their rights online.
“This is an important victory not just for us, but also for the billions of people around the world who use the web to communicate and share experiences with each other,” said Kent Walker, vice president and general counsel at Google.
Viacom Plans Appeal
Despite the ruling, sentiments on the Viacom side were also positive. Michael Fricklas, Viacom’s executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, said the company is disappointed with the ruling, but is confident about a victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals.
“YouTube and Google demonstrated that the tools to limit piracy aren’t impossible to find or even that difficult to implement — they fixed the problem of rampant piracy on YouTube after Viacom filed this lawsuit,” Fricklas said. “Before that, however, YouTube and Google stole hundreds of thousands of video clips from artists and content creators, including Viacom, building a substantial business that was sold for billions of dollars. We believe that should not be allowed by law or common sense.”
Fricklas went on to say that Viacom’s case against YouTube has always been about whether intentional theft of copyrighted works is permitted under existing law. Viacom always knew the critical underlying issue would need to be addressed by courts at the appellate levels, Fricklas said, and the judge’s decision accelerates the company’s opportunity to do so….