Music Publishers Add Vocals to YouTube Suit

(NEWSER) - Viacom filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Google yesterday for what it says is gross copyright infringement on YouTube, the company's newest acquisition. Google has promised to work with companies to remove copyrighted material, but Viacom complains that illegally posted clips of its programs like "The Daily Show" have been watched on YouTube “an astounding 1.5 billion times.” More»

Viacom wants to see what YouTube workers are uploading

(NEWSER) - Google is refusing to turn over records of content its employees at YouTube have uploaded, CNET reports. Two weeks ago, a judge ordered the company to disclose a huge set of user data, along with information on employees, as part of Viacom’s copyright claim. If workers uploaded copyright-protected material, the video-sharing site's protection under federal law could be in jeopardy. More»

Data dump includes users' names and IP addresses

(NEWSER) - A judge has ordered Google to give Viacom records of all videos ever watched on YouTube, including users’ names and IP addresses, Wired reports. Viacom is seeking the data to bolster its $1 billion lawsuit against Google for allowing copyrighted Viacom clips on YouTube. The media giant believes the data will show that copyrighted clips draw more views than user-created content. More»

How do the boys keep YouTube from turning into Napster?

(NEWSER) - With Viacom incubating "the biggest copyright lawsuit in history" against YouTube, the video-sharing site is beginning to smell a bit like Napster. Which leads Clive Thompson to ponder in New York why the Google boys decided to acquire YouTube—and its looming crisis—last year. And why, once they had, they decided to stare down Sumner Redstone instead of sharing revenue. More»

Accusations fly in YouTube copyright-infringement showdown

(NEWSER) - Viacom secretly uploaded video clips of its shows to YouTube and then launched a $1 billion copyright-infringement suit over those same clips, according to Google's lawyers. Google claims the company, seeking to promote shows like South Park, hired over a dozen marketing agencies to upload the clips, making sure they were "roughed up" so they looked like they had been uploaded by fans. More»