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Google’s owner thinks that Viacom $1billion lawsuit against YouTube is a threat to the Internet.

The lawsuit has been filed by Viacom, as it thinks that YouTube has abused the copyright laws and has allowed countless copies of popular television programming and movies; posting them on their site and viewed endlessly.

Viacom claims to have identified at least 150,000 such abuses that include clips from shows like South Park and MTV Unplugged.

Viacom says, “The availability on the YouTube of a vast library of copyrighted work of plaintiffs and others is the cornerstone of defendant’s business plan�

The legal action initiated last year and Viacom submitted an amended version last month. Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone said that “the lawsuit has been filed not only to serve an individual’s interest but of everyone who want their copyrights to be protected�. And also said “that such piracy by anyone is intolerable; not even YouTube can get away with it.�

Google in its papers submitted to a Manhattan court said that both Google and YouTube “go well beyond its legal obligations in assisting owner to safeguard their work.�

Google considers that the only way this issue gets resolved, is in the court, as Google’s vice president of content partnerships, David Eun said that “Google will go all the way the Supreme Court�.

Although YouTube had launched an anti-piracy tool after the allegations to keep a check uploaded content against the original only to flag piracy.

The Internet is looked upon by companies as a broadcast medium while for many it is just a tool for communication and the purpose should be to improve and ease communication more. What’s surprising here is that when you communicate the copyright laws get a bit confusing and if Internet is considered a communication tool then the entire thing gets pretty hazy.

If they are planning to bring copyrights into communication, I can very well file a lawsuit for friends who go humming my poetry and communicate my words to others!!!!

via BBC