When Viacom, the global media company that own brands like CBS, MTV, Paramount Pictures, and Showtime, sued YouTube for copyright infringement, they wanted huge amounts of money to rectify what they called “brazen disregard of the intellectual property laws,” according to Ars Technica.
eBay, Facebook, Yahoo, and Ask.com all weighed in on the side of internet freedom and democracy with Google, who owns YouTube.
Now, Ars Technica reports that “The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has rejected Viacom’s claim that Google’s premier video site was guilty of massive copyright infringement. Instead, the court has granted Google’s motion for summary judgment and asserted that YouTube fully qualifies for ‘safe harbor’ protections under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.” Whoo hoo!
On YouTube’s blog, Kent Walker, Vice President and General Counsel for Google, said, “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 billions of people post and watch on YouTube every day around the world.”
Of course, it seems as though Viacom intends to appeal the case. In the meantime, we net denizens can enjoy using internet speed in a virtual world that may just be a bit freer, thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation who are out there defending our digital rights!
Tags: Google, Internet Speed, YouTube