April 5, 2007 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Google has suggested Viacom is abusing the United States’ copyright act. Reports suggested that Counsel for Google, Mr. Michael Kwun, concluded Viacom’s recent lawsuit against Google/YouTube was "an attack on the way people communicate on the web and on the platforms that allow people to make the Internet their own."
According to Kwun, Viacom supported the Copyright Act as Congress passed it, but did not identify copyrighted content on YouTube as they were required to by law. Kwun went on to suggest the Copyright Act provides "safe harbor" for websites that remove offending content when asked to. "Fortunately, the law is clear, and on our side," Mr. Kwun suggested.
As reported previously, Viacom, the parent body of MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon, is suing Google for copyright infringement for 160,000 video clips featuring content it created. The complaint claims the clips have been viewed more than 1.5 billion times, denying writers, directors and the talent who created them the rewards they deserve. The action asks for 1 Billion dollars in damages and an injunction that could shut YouTube down.
