Google must be regretting its decision to buy YouTube for such a vast sum of money. Not only is it failing to make any serious money from advertising right now, the lawsuits are coming thick and fast.
While the Viacom court case may be the most high profile, it’s certainly not the only case against Google and YouTube. The latest coming from Italian media company, Mediaset.
Illegal Distribution
Mediaset, controlled by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, is suing Google over the “illegal distribution and commercial use of audio and video files” owned by the Milan-based company. It is seeking damages of at least 500 million euros ($779 million).
Mediaset alleges that it found at least 4,643 instances of its programming on YouTube on June 10th. This represents approximately 325 hours of material, and has lost its three Italian television networks almost 315,700 viewer days.
YouTube Responds
YouTube has already responded to the claim, issuing a statement saying:
“YouTube respects copyright holders and takes copyright issues very seriously. There is no need for legal action and all the associated costs.”
“We prohibit users from uploading infringing material, and we cooperate with all copyright holders to identify and promptly remove infringing content as soon as we are officially notified.”
A Day In Court?
While the response is correct, stating Google is against users uploading copyright infringing content, that isn’t likely to get the company off the hook or appease Mediaset at all. Expect this one to rumble on for a while.
Related Ad
‘Copyright’s Paradox’ – Exploring the complexities of copyright law
