MTV owner Viacom has said it will sue video sharing website YouTube to the tune of $1 billion for enabling the unofficial distribution of its programmes. The media giant claims that YouTube currently hosts some 160,000 unauthorised clips of programmes from its TV networks, which include all the MTV and VH1 channels and kids channel Nickelodeon, and that those clips have been viewed more than 1.5 billion times. Viacom's legal action will also seek an injunction to stop YouTube from continuing what the TV company calls "massive intentional copyright infringement".
In a statement confirming the litigation, Viacom said: "YouTube's strategy has been to avoid taking proactive steps to curtail the infringement on its site. Their business model, which is based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws. 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".
But a spokesman for YouTube owners Google said yesterday they were confident that they could defeat any copyright infringement lawsuit launched against the service: "We have not received the lawsuit but are confident that YouTube has respected the legal rights of copyright holders and believe the courts will agree. YouTube is great for users and offers real opportunities to rights holders: the opportunity to interact with users; to promote their content to a young and growing audience; and to tap into the online advertising market. We will certainly not let this suit become a distraction to the continuing growth and strong performance of YouTube and its ability to attract more users, more traffic and build a stronger community".