YouTube Beats Viacom In Massive Copyright Infringement Case

In a landmark case between the giants YouTube and Vicaom, Google’s YouTube has come out ahead. According to a company statement today the court in their case has granted YouTube’s ‘summary judgment’ in the lawsuit.

In short, YouTube has been handed the victory that they wanted, and has found legal protection and has set precedent that they, and others like them, are protected under the safe harbor section of the DMCA.

YouTube’s statement:

Today, the court granted our motion for summary judgment in Viacom’s lawsuit with YouTube. This means that the court has decided that YouTube is protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) against claims of copyright infringement. We’re extremely gratified by this decision and the now established judicial consensus that online services like YouTube are immune from liability when they work cooperatively with copyright holders to help them protect 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. We’re excited about this decision and look forward to renewing our focus on supporting the incredible variety of ideas and expression that millions of people post and watch on YouTube every day around the world.

Posted by Kent Walker, Vice President and General Counsel, Google

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If you have missed the entire legal tangling, we previously prepared a breakdown of the lawsuit and its implications. In summary, to paraphrase the synthesis:

Viacom:

Google and YouTube knew about the infringement [of Viacom material on YouTube], made money off of it, and took part in it. Therefore, they owe us a truckload [an exact measure] of money. Google has said money in the bank, and will save our year from being dismal financially.

YouTube:

Under the DMCA safe harbor rules, we are completely inside of the letter and spirit of the law. Precedents have been set for such rulings in trials like Io Group v. Veoh.

YouTube and Google have no intention to bail out a struggling business. Learn how to make your own money.

And now the conclusion, YouTube has won.