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Mark Cuban Declares War on GooTube

PreacherTom writes "Mark Cuban — the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, tech entrepreneur, and self-proclaimed 'blog maverick' — has always been outspoken in his ridicule of Google and YouTube. Now, it appears he's willing to put his money where his mouth is. Cuban is so convinced that GooTube will be a failure that he is in the process of acquiring the news agency owned by Robert Tur, currently involved in serious litigation with Google over copyright violations. With billions on both sides, this could be a real clash of the titans."

51 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. Titans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    With billions on both sides, this could be a real clash of the titans.


    Yeah, it could be, but we're calling it "GooTube".
    1. Re:Titans by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's German. It means "good ube." I've often wondered if they accidentally left off the 'r', which would make a little more sense: "good over"

      --
      This guy's the limit!
    2. Re:Titans by Ceriel+Nosforit · · Score: 3, Funny

      They should just call it OogleTube or somesuch instead...

      And on another note, why does it matter how rich these people are? Yeah, I know. It was a rethoric question. The real quiestion is; why the hell do we take this situation without the least bit of critiquie?

      --
      All rites reversed 2010
    3. Re:Titans by mikerich · · Score: 5, Funny
      GooTube or Yougle? Hmmm... that's a tough one.

      One sounds like a glue, the other a brand of European yogurt.

    4. Re:Titans by Umbrae · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah. But nobody likes a GooTuber. Slimy potatos aren't really where it's at.

    5. Re:Titans by KDR_11k · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No, not at all (the word you're thinking of is gut, oo is not pronounced like that in German). Maybe it's Dutch. And über is mostly used for locations.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    6. Re:Titans by cybrzndane · · Score: 2, Funny

      Don't tell Sen. Ted Stevens. The phrase may be misconstrued.

    7. Re:Titans by Joe+Snipe · · Score: 2

      Google Youtube
      XX|||| |||XXXX
            \\\\\////
              OgleYou

      Should have gone into marketing.

      --
      Sometimes, life itself is sarcasm...
  2. Wait... by pionzypher · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The man is so convinced that google/youtube will fail, he's actually going to jump in the ring to try to make it happen? Umm... Someone should just give this guy a hobby.

    --
    I'll believe in corporations having personhood when Texas executes one... - advocate_one
    1. Re:Wait... by PFI_Optix · · Score: 4, Funny

      He has a hobby: finding new and interesting ways to get ejected from an NBA game.

      --
      120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
    2. Re:Wait... by Ryan+Amos · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is Mark Cuban we're talking about. He bought a basketball team just so he could hang out with pro athletes. The whole situation with him and the Mavs reminds me of a movie where the biggest fan somehow ends up becoming the owner of the team. His blog rants are the same kind of rants you'd hear from your buddies while watching the game on TV (refs are against us, conspiracy theory, blah blah blah.) What I like about the guy is that the NBA fines him $100,000+ every time he says something stupid and he keeps doing it. That's putting your money where your mouth is.

      Of course, this is actually his area of business specialty (media and the internet.) He has a ton of business reasons to ensure Google/YouTube don't succeed. He probably had the same idea 3 or 4 years ago but scrapped it over liability concerns, and he's making sure nobody else gets to make money off it either.

    3. Re:Wait... by squiggleslash · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Ah, thanks for coming Mark. Glad to hear you've taken us over, we really admire whatever it is you're famous for. Anyway, just to let you know, we're close to reaching a settlement with Google. They're going to pay us seventy eight mill..."

      "Sorry to cut you off, but that's not going to happen. We're not settling. We're going to win this case."

      "But we are winning the case. This deal means we'll get..."

      "Sorry, not interested. We're going to fight this case, demand $699, or whatever that statatuory damages figure is, for every download of every video that YouTube has ever done that we can sue over."

      "But that'll drive Google bankrupt! We'll never get our money, and under this deal we'll end up getting more in the long run anyway because, as I was saying, they're going to, every year, pay us..."

      "Stop. Stop right now. I predicted Google are going to lose this. Lose they shall."

      "But wouldn't you prefer us both to win? I mean, we can make a fortune through this, if Google makes it a success."

      "No. Then I'd look like an idiot. People would point at me and say "There goes Mark Cuban, the guy who said Google was doomed by buying YouTube, and now has made billions by coming to an agreement that meant Google could make it work." I don't want that to happen. I have a reputation to keep. I'm a dot-com millionaire damn it."

      ...etc...

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    4. Re:Wait... by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 5, Funny
      If I were sophisticated I would know the word in the English language that describes this kind of behaviour, but alas, I'll have to rely on a fellow slashdotter (once again...).
      I believe that the word you're looking for is "asshole".
    5. Re:Wait... by EnderWigginsXenocide · · Score: 4, Informative

      "according to the law, he's... uh... right."

      YouTube requires agreement to their TOS when one posts a video. The poster is liable for the conents of the video. YouTube complies with takedown notices. So if you don't like something that goes onto YouTube and you have the legal rights to it, you ask YouTube to take it down, and it's gone. Who the hell needs to waste time and money on a lawsuit when single letter ("Get my stuff off your site, here are the URLS") will get your content off YouTube. Taking up a suit against a company that is so compliant with takedown requests is only a moneygrab or an act of malice ("Let's sue them into bankrupcy, I can afford more lawyer time then they can.")

      --
      Blessed are the pessimists, for they have made backups. -- 0 1 My two bits
    6. Re:Wait... by 14CharUsername · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ah, american capitalism. Come up with an idea, find weaknesses in it, then wait until someone else uses the idea and then sue their asses off.

      This guy is pure slime.

    7. Re:Wait... by Samrobb · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ??AA: "Just to play devil's advocate, why should we have to waste our time searching through all of these different computers to see if they have our content on them? Especially because even if we remove it all, it could easily be re-downloaded by someone else the next day. Our time is valuable to us, and if we have to spend some of it trying to protect our stuff, then that leaves us less time to sign new artists, or go on promotions, or count our money, or whatever."

      --
      "Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgement." Job 32:9
    8. Re:Wait... by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 2, Informative
      What I like about the guy is that the NBA fines him $100,000+ every time he says something stupid and he keeps doing it. That's putting your money where your mouth is.

      And, I believe, donates an equal amount to charity. I think he was even quoted as saying something along the lines of "Such and such charity hasn't been getting enough money from me since I lost my voice, so I've been catching up on badmouthing the refs"...

  3. *Tsk Tsk* Have we learned nothing? by Dr.+Eggman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Whenever Godzilla and Mecha-Godzilla fight; it is Tokyo that suffers the most.

    --
    Demented But Determined.
    1. Re:*Tsk Tsk* Have we learned nothing? by bosef1 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Let it not be said that MtG taught us nothing.

  4. Only a moron would buy YouTube by burris · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just like the morons that bought broadcast.com

    1. Re:Only a moron would buy YouTube by theNOTO · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Mark Cuban used to own broadcast.com? Who knew?

    2. Re:Only a moron would buy YouTube by dj_krztoff · · Score: 5, Funny

      So, what you're saying is ... you got the joke.

    3. Re:Only a moron would buy YouTube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Really? Wow! It's so funny how he mentioned broadcast.com and the sale thereof in a story about the previous owner of said domain. Just, wow. That's really amazing. I mean, out of all the stories in the world, and all the domains in the world, he happened to mention broadcast.com in this particular story. And then you, you clever person you, were sharp enough to notice the completely coincidental connection. I truly tip my hat to you sir!

  5. Furthering his own interests... by thebdj · · Score: 4, Insightful
    As of August 9, 2005, Cuban had begun spearheading ventures in both the social software and distributed networking industries. Cuban is an owner of IceRocket, a search engine which scours the blogosphere for content.[34] Cuban is also a partner in RedSwoosh[35] -- a company which uses peer-to-peer technology to deliver rich media, including video and software to a user's PC.
    That is taken right from the wikipedia article, here. Seriously, this would just a movie to further his own ventures. I still think this is odd since he did back Grokster during their failed legal attempts. I guess since there is no way for him to get in on the Google/YouTube money (and he feels cheated there were wrongdoings in the deal) that he will help beat them the "old fashioned" way by financing someone who is suing them. Where have I heard of this little scheme before....
    --
    "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb."
    1. Re:Furthering his own interests... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Cuban is also a partner in RedSwoosh[35] -- a company which uses peer-to-peer technology to deliver rich media, including video and software to a user's PC.

      commonly known as a PUP (potentially unwanted program)
      or as we in the tech industry call it "spyware"

      http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/redswoosh.net

    2. Re:Furthering his own interests... by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 2, Insightful
      still think this is odd since he did back Grokster during their failed legal attempts.


      (Emphasis mine) Actually it makes perfect sense. To a legal simpleton anyway.

      Grokster was sued by copyright holders over illegal distribution of copyrighted material.
      Google/YouTube is being sued by copyright holders over allegedly illegal distribution of copyrighted material.

      Grokster lost, therefore Google/YouTube will lose. Cuban is backing the horse that he thinks will win, and he believes he'll cash in.

  6. Open up a Western Front by Lev13than · · Score: 4, Funny

    Cuban is so convinced that GooTube will be a failure that he is in the process of acquiring the news agency owned by Robert Tur, currently involved in serious litigation with Google over copyright violations.

    In retaliation, Sergey Brin has just announced plans to buy the L.A. Clippers.

    --
    When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
    1. Re:Open up a Western Front by Odin's+Raven · · Score: 4, Funny
      In retaliation, Sergey Brin has just announced plans to buy the L.A. Clippers.

      Next, Brin and Cuban agree that all copyright issues will be settled by best-of-7 tournaments between their respective teams. This proves to be too time consuming, so they expedite the process by substituting one-on-one NBA Live 07 matches using virtual versions of their respective teams.

      The first match goes poorly, with Cuban accusing Brin of redirecting 90% of Google's computers to run a "hoop-bot" to improve his team's shooting accuracy. To ensure fairness, future matches are broadcast live on G4 TV. This proves to be an instant hit, capturing 100% attention from both of G4's viewers. A year later, Electronic Arts introduces "Madden Meta-NBA 08", where players control either a virtual Brin or virtual Cuban playing simulated NBA Live matches, available exclusively on the new SonySoft XStation720.

      The game becomes an instant hit, and six months later Hollywood commissions a movie of the game of the company owners playing sports games of teams fighting for ...errr... for something or other, frankly we've forgotten by now. Probably a woman. Or a cat. Maybe an orphanage. Screw it, we'll go with an orphan cat-woman. Uwe Bolle will direct.

      --
      A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores.
  7. Suing for profit is a moral stand? by ghostlibrary · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Okay, I'm puzzled. The EFF defending someone sued by, say, the RIAA, is to support the individual who is being overwhelmed by a large corporation due to a questionable law. And one could argue Cuban is just doing something similar-- supporting a lawsuit of an individual who feels a corporation has infringed on their rights in an area where the law is murky.

    However, supporting an individual's lawsuit, not because of the principal involved, but because you don't like them and think they're stupid, that's... well, childish. That's putting ego as more important than justice, and in theory, that's what the whole court system is supposed to prevent.

    Isn't this just a form of vigilante justice by Cuban? "I don't like 'em, so they're going down."

    --
    A.
    1. Re:Suing for profit is a moral stand? by bugnuts · · Score: 2, Insightful

      supporting an individual's lawsuit, not because of the principal involved, but because you don't like them and think they're stupid, that's... well, childish.
      This is a billionaire and his interests are not "principles", they are "principle".

      There is money involved, and like any entrepreneur, he wants what doesn't belong to him. If he can make a gamble and win, he can tap gootube for a lot of cash.

      As someone else stated, he needs a real hobby. Litigation is not a good one. He's worse than the ambulance-chaser ... instead he is an ambulance-chaser-chaser.

  8. I am the boss! by AdamGott · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Jeez, Mark Cuban is a whiney little brat (or substitute your own word that begins with a B here). You guys need to learn that just because you have all the money you don't get to make all of the rules. Most of them, sure, but not all. Go to news.google.com and search for Mark Cuban and see for yourself...

  9. What is he getting? by jense · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Mark Cuban is a maverick in a lot of ways. I have actually had the pleasure of meeting him several times during the course of my previous job here in Dallas, and in-person and in everday situations (I've spoken with him both in a business and casual setting), he is a cordial, and generally "normal" person. But he is not not stupid. Maverick is a good word for him, as he may not always be diplomatic or smart about his emotional reactions, but he is definitely not dumb when it comes to many business decisions. My question is: what is he getting out of this? Is it a pride thing? So needs to be right he's cast his lot with the opponents? The money motivator is there, but it's not like he needs more. I think he may be bored and just needs something to focus on that he feels is a sure thing.

    --
    Touting MyEclipse AJAX Tools
  10. Why you ask... by C_Kode · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why you ask would an owner of a sports franchise care? Because he isn't just the owner the the Dallas Mavericks. He is a media guy who owns HD-Net. An broadcasting and media company that creates HD media and of course the last thing he wants is his media to appear on YouTube. He is a wannbe Ted Turner/Rupert Murdoc.

  11. A stupid billionaire vs 'the people' by unity100 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Who do you think will win ?

    1. Re:A stupid billionaire vs 'the people' by Ant+P. · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Lawyers.

  12. Too much free time by future+assassin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Image if people put that much effort/money into helping out their communities instead of childish vendettas.

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
  13. What a jerk. by Qwavel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are lots of people out there throwing the little bits of money they have at charities and other causes that they think will make the world a better place.

    Contrast with this guy.

    1. Re:What a jerk. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually Cuban donates shitloads to charities. Every fine he's endured as a NBA Team Owner he's matched by donating to Charity. So according to my calculations, he's donated well over $500,000.00 dollars to charities just from getting fined from the sidelines.

      So when was the last time you donated some money to charity? Who's the jerk now? The one who speaks without knowing a little more background info.

    2. Re:What a jerk. by centerfire · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's .038% of his net worth, which according to Forbes is 1.3BIL. I'll bet most people have given far over that percentage to charity, on an annual basis.

  14. Crazy, but right by realmolo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    YouTube and Google Video *are* full of copyrighted material. They *should* have some liability.

    Don't get me wrong. I think that the so-called "content-providers" should be HAPPY about the free advertising they get when clips of their stuff are posted on those sites. But we all know that they can't stand it, and that it is illegal. It probably shouldn't be, but it is.

    And you know what? It doesn't seem fair that in a world where the RIAA is forcing grandmothers to cough up thousands and thousands of dollars for unknowingly sharing Britney Spears tunes from their PC, that big corporations like Google get a free ride.
     

  15. Knockon effect. by malkavian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If Cuban is successful in getting a judge to rule that takedown is no longer good enough to prevent a site being sued for copyright infringement, how long do you think it'll be before no site allows anything to be uploaded, as they can no longer afford the resources to work out if it's copyright or not, and can't afford the legal fees for even a few infringements?

    This would be disastrous for the net. And for everyone in general, apart from those big media conglomerates who only transmit on their own content. This could, in one fell swoop, turn the internet from the mass of information it is now to just another broadcast mechanism for the big distribution channels (*IAA etc).

  16. Just speculation but... by niola · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Mark Cuban made his money selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo, so is it possible he still has a stake in Yahoo and this is nothing more than a territorial piss and moan contest at the competition?

  17. Cuban seems like what most /.ers want to be by paladinwannabe2 · · Score: 4, Informative

    According to Wikipedia, Mark Cuban was a software salesman who became rich through selling his company. He's a libertarian and objectivist. He's not a moron, and certainly not a suit. I may disagree with his attack on Google here, but that doesn't mean I think he's stupid.

    --
    You are reading a copy of my copyrighted post.
  18. Re:Liability by decipher_saint · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Google/YouTube did not upload copyrighted material to itself and it is not responsible for policing itself. If a copyright holder finds material they report it and it gets pulled.

    The counter-argument is that should there be a system of active moderation? Well, I look at this way. Should Ginsu send a man 'round to every customer's house every now and then to ensure that no one is misusing their Ginsu knife?

    --
    crazy dynamite monkey
  19. Crazy, and wrong by Per+Abrahamsen · · Score: 4, Informative

    The DMCA is supposed to mean that YouTube and Google are not responsible for what their users upload, but are obliged to remove all copyrighted material when requested to do so by the copyright holders.

    This is one thing the DMCA got right, without such a protection of service providers, it would be impossible to run a site like /. where anyone can upload copyrighted material.

  20. Re:The Classic Battle by mcpkaaos · · Score: 3, Funny

    You sure you didn't mean to type 'emo2001' when you signed up?

    --
    It goes from God, to Jerry, to me.
  21. Re:Sour grapes by HeavenlyBankAcct · · Score: 3, Funny

    Marks skill was getting rich, but can he juggle 5 balls ? wheelie a bike ? grind a rail on a skateboard ? fly a helicopter ? draw a picture well ?

    Dude, Mark Cuban can totally wheelie a bike and grind a rail on a skateboard.

    This one time, he was skating and I saw him do a totally gnarly 360 off of some dude's face while the dude was all screaming like "NO WAY!" and then Mark Cuban landed in Bolivia and did an ollie right over these military drug guys with machine guns that were all shooting in the air so he jumped off the skateboard in mid-air and threw it at them and it hit all three of them at once so they were like "WHOA!" and then they got knocked out so Mark Cuban (who was still in the air) landed on a BMX bike and did a vicious wheelie, then some other dude handed him a Flying V and he started playing Cat Scratch Fever while he was totally riding with no hands and some girls in bikinis were all like "YOU ARE HOT" and he was all like "I KNOW" and then he drank a Mountain Dew really fast and then did a thumbs-up.

  22. Re:Cuban seems like what most /.ers want to be by DragonWriter · · Score: 2, Insightful
    He's a libertarian and objectivist. He's not a moron...


    Wait, which is it: "He's a libertarian and objectivist" or "He's not a moron"? You can't have it both ways. Okay, I'm joking a little there, but...

    ...and certainly not a suit.


    Wait, you say he's a "salesman who got rich selling his company" and then you say he's "not a suit"? That's, um, well pretty common for a "suit". Indeed, most people would say that if your a salesman that got rich selling a company, and now own an NBA franchise, you are clearly a "suit".

    Anyway, I think you are pretty crazy if you think most slashdotters want to be salesmen, whether of software or otherwise.
  23. The guy is ALL hobbies by alexhmit01 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The guy owns HD Net (and the sister channel, HD Net Movies). When nobody was doing HD Content, he got HD rights to minor college games and NHL games, and built a little network there. He also bought the right to do transfers of old shows. He's an active participant on AVS Forum, explaining what is going on in the HD world. The craziest thing, you could only get HD Net from DirecTV and a local Texas station for its first few years. He bought a local television station just to run HD Net OTA to prove that OTA HD was practical.

    When I met him very briefly (like 1 second) at CES some years back, watching him speak was amazing, not for what he said, but to hear the AWE from the representatives of companies like TI that were talking about how nobody did more for their industry than him.

    The man has loads of money, and is spending it to push things that he believes will make the world a better place. He also has an ego the size of Texas. He had is own show on HD Net (where he could be a big dork but have his players on), and HD Net's coverage of CES was interviewing him.

    The guy made a fortune selling broadcast.com at JUST the right time, and is now pushing technology the way he wants it, where a few gambles can make a difference. HD Net's sports coverage forced ESPN to adopt HD content before they wanted to, and DirecTV used HD Net to anchor HD programming when there was almost no programming. If it wasn't for him, the local affiliates would have gotten their dream of HD being a fig leaf to get public airwaves, where 1/6 of the channel space would carry normal 480i programming, and 5/6s be sold for data services, etc. Instead, HD Net helped force everyone's hand, and HD is here and real.

    The guy's hobby appears to be bending public will to his, and he does a good job of it. While these "investments" may not have been profitable in a traditional sense (I doubt that he loses money, but he probably isn't getting a better ROI than having plowed his money into the S&P 500), it seems to have made him happy. He owns a basketball team, and he has a television network that buys the rights to do HD Transfers of whatever shows he wants to watch in HD. While the rest of us are at the mercy of the marketing departments guessing what we want, he can go make it happen. That's a pretty cool hobby.

    Alex

  24. Never! by Phoenix666 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now listen up, Fi-del, you and your Cubans will NEVER take down GooTube as long as one drop of blood flows through our red, white, and blue veins!

    Stick THAT in your cigar and smoke it.

    --
    Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
  25. Re:Mark Cuban by FrostedChaos · · Score: 2, Funny

    So let me get this straight: "most people" become "high level executives"? Um, I thought there were only a few of those guys.

    You're tired of stereotypes, so you trot out the old "mom's basement" expression?

    And what the fuck does "go-getter" mean?
    Better get those TPS reports on my desk PDQ, or I'm going to proactively synergize my boot up your ass.

    --
    "Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental." -Slashdot