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Google Video Sued For Copyright Infringement

Posted by Zonk on from the other-shoe-drops dept.

PadRacerExtreme writes to mention an Associated Press article about a lawsuit against Google Video over copyright infringement. The company provided no additional information about the case, which it disclosed in an SEC filing on Wednesday. Some analysts are viewing this as a preview of what may happen to the company after it completes its takeover of the YouTube site. From the article: "Because it indexes so much material owned by others, Google has become accustomed to fielding complaints about copyright infringement. Some of the disputes have triggered lawsuits for everything from Google's efforts to make digital copies of library books to its search engine's ability to display snippets of news stories and photos appearing on other Web sites. Those suits haven't become a big financial drain on Google yet, and investors so far appear confident the company's lawyers will minimize the damage from any claims brought on by the YouTube purchase."

4 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. They should have waited by Salvance · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This just reconfirms my belief that Google should have waited a few months/years to buy YouTube. I think Mark Cuban was right, YouTube was a big ole lawsuit waiting to happen. Google could have waited until the copyright lawsuits hit then sweeped in to buy it for a fraction of the price. Now they've just increased their liability.

    --
    Crack - Free with every butt and set of boobs
    1. Re:They should have waited by Ariastis · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I believe what Google assument is that YouTube alone might end up being squashed by the lawsuits and lost a lot of its marketshare/value if it had to face lawsuits on its own (Since it was starting to lack funding). Also, YouTube might have been pressured to ink bad deals in the long term to fend off some of those lawsuits.

      By buying it now, they decided to play it the other way around by dealing with the problems themselves, the Google Way, with all their ressources & influence backing up the dealmaking process.

      While I agree this was a costly move, I believe it was a smart one to appropriate themselves the First Mover Advantage.

    2. Re:They should have waited by Zadaz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I can't see how there would be any other answer. A company doesn't spend $1.7 billion without kicking the tires and having a plan.

      (Well, the other answer would be "They're snakeshit crazy" but every other action the company has taken indicates they're stone cold sane, if not downright clever.)

    3. Re:They should have waited by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Everyone always seem to be saying the same thing: Google should have waited to buy YouTube, because of potential lawsuits. Everyone though seems to forget about Google Video... that is really no different to YouTube. Google have a lot of lawyers at their disposal, and I'm sure they were told of all the possible lawsuits and copyright cases that could follow, but they'll have been though all this when they set up Google Video surely?

      And of course the age old saying: There's no such thing as bad publicity.
      Google are definitely getting a lot of publicity from this deal!

      -P.