Viacom Files Federal Copyright Complaint Against YouTube and Google

By Garth Johnston -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/13/2007 9:51:00 AM

Entertainment giant Viacom Inc. has filed a copyright infringement complaint against YouTube and Google in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

According to the suit, which seeks a court ruling to require Google and YouTube to comply with copyright laws and more than $1 billion dollars in damages, Viacom alleges that 160,000 unauthorized clips of Viacom programming have been available on YouTube. The clips have been viewed by users more than 1.5 billion times.

In a statement summarizing the suit Viacom said,  “There is no question that YouTube and Google are continuing to take the fruit of our efforts without permission and destroying enormous value in the process.  This is value that rightfully belongs to the writers, directors and talent who create it and companies like Viacom that have invested to make possible this innovation and creativity.”