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The Google, Viacom Lawsuit Ends in a Settlement

TMCnet Feature

March 18, 2014

The Google, Viacom Lawsuit Ends in a Settlement

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By Steve Anderson
Contributing TMCnet Writer

One of the biggest lawsuits in tech has largely nothing to do with devices, but instead has much more to do with content. But the ongoing lawsuit between Viacom and Google (News - Alert)—going on one level or another since 2007 by some reports—has reportedly come to a close, and with a settlement to finish it. The details of the settlement that emerged, however, are perhaps even more noteworthy than the existence of the settlement.


It was an out of court settlement, reportedly, and what followed from the two companies had nothing to do with the details of the settlement. Rather, there was a joint statement released from the duo, saying “Google and Viacom (News - Alert) today jointly announced the resolution of the Viacom vs. YouTube copyright litigation. This settlement reflects the growing collaborative dialogue between our two companies on important opportunities, and we look forward to working more closely together.” Further reports noted that, despite the fact that Viacom was seeking as much as $1 billion in damages, no money changed hands between the two companies, according to reports from those “familiar with the transaction.”

Google had previously been seen winning some battles against Viacom, particularly a major one in 2010 where a U.S. District Court Judge, Louis Stanton, delivered some critical victories for Google against Viacom. Viacom appealed, but the appeals court moved the verdict back to Stanton, who didn't budge on earlier rulings. Viacom again appealed, and were set to return to court next Monday

Essentially, what seems to have happened—at least by some reports—is that the market, and the courts, have pretty much already settled the issue that Viacom was pursuing. YouTube (News - Alert) now boasts several measures for content rights holders to demand the removal of offending content, and in turn, the sites hosting the video were largely left free of liability if measures to remove content were put in place. Google's acquisition of YouTube back in 2006 led to the development of just such a system, the “ContentID” system, that made it easy to pin down such content and get it removed.

While even ContentID can only go so far—the offending content can come back in different form—the fact that it's there helps ensure that content providers get to control the content in question. Indeed, Viacom has made regular use of the ContentID system, and Paramount has been working with YouTube to offer movies for rent. With many of Viacom's concerns put to rest, and Google developing further measures to help said content providers, the end result is a net positive for both sides.

It seems to be an issue that has come to rest, and well, for all concerned. While there are still issues associated with content online on all sides—viewers want certain programs that the owners are unwilling to release for any of a host of reasons, and the sites would rather operate without the threat of lawsuits so even ContentID can overstep as was recently seen with a variety of gaming-related videos—more and more, we're reaching a point where the three sides of this arrangement are getting closer together. More content is being made available and at good prices, which removes a lot—granted, not all—of the impetus to pirate. That's a positive development for all concerned.

Only time will tell how it all comes out, but a future in which everything that's ever aired or been made is easily available for a decent rate may not be too far behind, and that's a great future for most everyone involved.




Edited by Cassandra Tucker

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