From: Around The Net

Google Won't Back Down In Viacom Suit
The New York Times

For the first time in months, defendant Google has gone public about its pending $1 billion lawsuit against Viacom. Michael Kwun, Google's managing counsel for litigation, spoke with reporters after the lawsuit was officially filed Monday, insisting that the Web giant would not back down--meaning no out of court settlement. Google seeks to have the case dismissed on the grounds that YouTube, the Google company cited in the suit, hasn't broken any law.

Google's defense relies heavily on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which grants sites that allow users to post material immunity from copyright infringement, provided those sites remove content promptly at the behest of the owner. In its filing, Google claimed that the 1998 law already balances the rights of copyright holders and Web hosting providers, adding that "Viacom's complaint threatens the way hundreds of millions of people legitimately exchange information, news, entertainment, and political and artistic expression."

Viacom contends that Google deliberately looks the other way as consumers upload copyrighted content. It contends that YouTube doesn't qualify for safe harbor under the DMCA, because the company knows its users are uploading copyrighted content and profits from it. Viacom adds that Google has the means to implement safeguards but has decided not to. Earlier in the year, the media giant asked YouTube to remove more than 100,000 Viacom clips. - Read the whole story...

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