YouTube , and therefore Google , is dealing with the second copyright infringement lawsuit in two months. This time, it's English Football's Premier League, who claim that their footage has been used to draw traffic to the website.
“Defendants, which own and operate the web site YouTube.com, have knowingly misappropriated and exploited this valuable property for their own gain without payment or license to the owners of the intellectual property.” The lawsuit claims.
Google , who purchased YouTube in November for $1.76 billion, has declined to comment, though YouTube officials say they are "working" on one.
This lawsuit closely follows Viacom , who filed a very similar suit against YouTube for $1 billion in March.
Google , who has adamantly denied such claims, argues that the Viacom suit threatens the way people exchange non-copyrighted information on the web.
YouTube has provided the Premier League with access to a tool which helps combat copyright infringements, but the lawyers for the League claim it's filled with problems, and say that YouTube needs to do more.
Google fans and analysts take comfort in the fact that this is only a small group – another large media firm would have hurt Google much more, and although this is a nuisance for their legal team, it's not expected to have a larger negative effect on the website.
Although the outcome of both the Viacom and Premier League lawsuits are yet unknown, and no one can really tell which way the courts will rule, one can only speculate, as many have, if Google is regretting acquiring the website. |
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