YouTube-Viacom Ruling Is a Victory for Web Providers

Google has gained a victory in its long-standing $1 billion copyright battle with Viacom. A federal judge granted Google's motion for a summary judgment in Viacom's lawsuit involving YouTube.

The judge's ruling Wednesday means the court has decided YouTube is protected by the safe-harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against claims of copyright infringement. This is in line with the established judicial consensus that online services are protected when they work cooperatively with copyright holders to help manage 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," said Kent Walker, vice president and general counsel at Google. [Read more...]