Facebook, Yahoo, eBay Defend YouTube in Viacom Suit

Back in 2007, Viacom filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Google’s popular video-viewing website, YouTube, claiming more than 63,000 copyrighted clips had been posted on the site. As reported by Bloomberg, YouTube is using the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which protects service providers as long as they remove copyrighted material immediately after being notified about the infringement, as its defense.

But YouTube may not even need the DMCA’s amnesty, as an Internet group consisting of Facebook, Yahoo, eBay and IAC came to the site’s rescue Wednesday. Representatives from all four companies filed friend-of-the-court briefs urging Viacom to drop the suit. Facebook/Yahoo/eBay/IAC’s collective attorney, Asim Bhansali, told Bloomberg: “Plaintiffs’ legal arguments, if accepted, would retard the development of the Internet and electronic commerce."

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.