Google Argues Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Safe Harbor In Viacom YouTube Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

The ABA Journal reports that Google has outlined its defenses in its $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit with Viacom over the display of copyrighted videos on YouTube.  Verizon originally filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google in 2007, alleging that Google had infringed upon its copyright rights by facilitating the posting of over 63,000 Viacom videos on the YouTube service.  Google claims that it is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's safe harbor provisions, which provide Internet service providers with a statutory safe harbor provided they expeditiously removes copyrighted materials from their servers upon notification.  If you are faced with a copyright infringement lawsuit, or if you believe that your copyrighted content has been stolen and are need of advice concerning the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, contact one of our expert copyright lawyers today at 866.936.7447.

In cross motions for summary judgment, Viacom claims that Google's YouTube was operated "with the unlawful objective of facilitating copyright infringement as a central part of their business plan to fuel YouTube’s meteoric growth."  Google, in turn, argues that they expeditiously remove copyrighted materials from the YouTube service upon notification and, in light of this, are protected by the statutory safe harbor under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  Google also argues that it did not obtain a financial benefit from the uploaded materials.  It will be interesting to see whether that is the case, as discovery is currently scheduled for mid-January.

If you are an Internet service provider that would like to ensure that your service complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's safe harbor provisions, or if you are a content producer that believes that an uploader is guilty of the copyright infringement of your works, contact one of our expert copyright infringement lawyers today.