For the second time in three years, YouTube (now owned by Google) beat back Viacom's blockbuster copyright infringement case on summary judgment (without having to go to trial). In 2007, Viacom sued YouTube alleging that YouTube was hosting tens of thousands of copyright infringing videos such as The Daily Show and SpongeBob SquarePants. In 2010, Judge Stanton ruled against Viacom, finding that the "safe harbor" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) protected YouTube as long as videos were removed promptly after being notified by rights holders.
The Court of Appeals last year reversed and sent the case back to Judge Stanton and directed him to consider whether YouTube had specific knowledge of copyright infringement or was willfully blind to specific infringement. And on April 18, 2013. Judge Stanton reaffirmed his ruling and found that Viacom could not prove that YouTube had such specific knowledge of the copyrighted nature of the videos on its site. "The burden of showing that YouTube knew or was aware of the specific infringements of the works in suit cannot be shifted to YouTube to disprove." To add insult to injury, Chad Hurley, YouTube's co-founder sent a sarcastic tweet to Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman inviting him to "grab a beer to celebrate".
This fight is not over. It is extremely likely that this case will head back to the Court of Appeals and, possibly, to the Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeals last year reversed and sent the case back to Judge Stanton and directed him to consider whether YouTube had specific knowledge of copyright infringement or was willfully blind to specific infringement. And on April 18, 2013. Judge Stanton reaffirmed his ruling and found that Viacom could not prove that YouTube had such specific knowledge of the copyrighted nature of the videos on its site. "The burden of showing that YouTube knew or was aware of the specific infringements of the works in suit cannot be shifted to YouTube to disprove." To add insult to injury, Chad Hurley, YouTube's co-founder sent a sarcastic tweet to Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman inviting him to "grab a beer to celebrate".
This fight is not over. It is extremely likely that this case will head back to the Court of Appeals and, possibly, to the Supreme Court.
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