On March 18, media giants Google and Viacom announced the settlement of a seven year old copyright dispute regarding content posted on YouTube. In 2007, Viacom sued Google for copyright infringement accusing the company of posting Viacom programing on YouTube without permission. The moneyless settlement ends the dispute with what the two companies are referring to as a collaborative effort.
The original suit was filed against YouTube, a Google owned company, seeking more than $1 billion in damages for the alleged infringements. Viacom accused YouTube of illegally broadcasting 79,000 videos between 2005 and 2008. Those videos included shows that aired on Viacom networks like Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with John Stewart” and Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
The case was only days away from a second round of oral arguments at the Second Circuit. In 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton dismissed the case. When appealed, the Second Circuit reversed, stating that a reasonable jury could have found that YouTube knew of specific infringements. However, on remand, Judge Stanton once again dismissed the case finding that YouTube and Google were protected by a safe harbor provision in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
The DMCA makes it illegal to produce technology that bypasses anti-piracy measures. The law contains a safe harbor for online service providers which make reasonable efforts to prevent infringement and remove content when notified by the copyright owner.
Viacom argued that YouTube was using the unauthorized videos to increase the number of visitors and make the site more attractive to advertisers. As a result, YouTube was able to charge more for advertisements.
Google contended that it removed the videos when notified and pointed out that Viacom was uploading its own videos to YouTube for promotional purposes. According to Google, Viacom could not tell which videos were authorized and which were not. On remand, in April 2013, Judge Stanton agreed with Google and rejected the argument that YouTube should monitor the content being uploaded. He pointed out that more than 24 hours of viewing material is uploaded every minute.
The settlement, on the eve of appellate arguments, is said to be moneyless, according to an anonymous source. The companies are not disclosing the terms but did release a joint statement. They said, “This settlement reflects the growing collaborative dialogue between our two companies on important opportunities, and we look forward to working more closely together.”
The result is probably a disappointment to the many companies closely following case because of its implications it would have on the DMCA. Viacom was supported by other media companies like the NFL, the Associated Press, and the Motion Picture Association of America while other internet companies like Facebook, eBay, and Yahoo were backing Google. Regardless of anyone’s feelings over the results, the settlement brings the massive seven year case to an end.
Google, Viacom settle landmark YouTube lawsuit