Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Viacom Inc

Viacom’s $1 Billion Lawsuit Against YouTube Moving Forward

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:19:07 +0000

Just when you thought Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube was over, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan has ruled that YouTube will need to defend themselves from the lawsuit by Viacom in court. Viacom filed the $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube in 2007. Viacom said that YouTube was responsible for a huge amount of copyrighted material uploaded by YouTube users.

Back in 2010, a lower court ruled that YouTube was protected from liability for what their users do because of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Under the DMCA, YouTube was responsible for removing offending videos when they were notified by copyright holders.

A reasonable jury could find that YouTube had actual knowledge or awareness of specific infringing activity on its website,” a two-judge panel said in a 39-page decision.

So what does “knowing” actually mean? We will find out in due time.

Colbert Report and Jon Stewart Return To Hulu Through Viacom Partnership

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 05:28:20 +0000

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report are returning to Hulu.com through a broad content agreement with Viacom. Each of the shows will be available on Hulu.com the morning after they air. Hulu will also offer episodes of Jersey Shore, The Hills, Chappelle’s Show, Reno 911, Teen Mom 2, and Tosh.0 21 days after the on-air premiere. “Welcome to Hulu Plus, Snooki,” wrote CEO Jason Kilar on the Hulu blog.

Viacom Sells Harmonix To Columbus Nova

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:39:20 +0000

Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA.B) has sold Rock Band franchise company Harmonix for $200 million to Columbus Nova. Analysts of Viacom’s business strategy have questioned why a company known for cable networks is involved in the video game industry.

Viacom had announced this past November that they were putting Harmonix up for sale. Viacom will likely gain $100-$200 million in tax benefits and the buyer assumption of liabilities.

“Columbus Nova is really excited about backing the world-class team that has consistently produced such great games and helping them grow the company and its brands,” stated a company spokesperson.

[Reuters]

Viacom Is Appealing YouTube Lawsuit

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 21:15:53 +0000

Viacom is appealing their lawsuit against YouTube. A federal court had ruled in favor of YouTube when Viacom sued them for copyright infringement. In a 72-page filing by Viacom, the company is arguing that if the lower ruling stands, it will “radically transform the functioning of the copyright system and severely impair, if not completely destroy, the value of many copyrighted creations.”

Google responded by saying:
“We regret that Viacom continues to drag out this case. The court here, like every other court to have considered the issue, correctly ruled that the law protects online services like YouTube, which remove content when notified by the copyright holder that it is unauthorized. We will strongly defend the court’s decision on appeal.”

youtube appeal –

Viacom Networks Comedy Central and MTV Block Google TV

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 23:21:30 +0000

This sounds like YouTube all over again. Viacom is refusing to join Google TV. This means Comedy Central, MTV, Paramount, Dreamworks, Spike, CMT, Xfire, Go Fish Pictures, and VH1 will not be appearing on Google TV. Other major networks that are blocking Google TV include ABC, NBC, and CBS. Viacom is blocking full episodes on the Logitech Revue and Sony Internet TVs too. [Engadget]

Viacom Wants To Sell Off Haromonix, Developer Of Rock Band

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:42:22 +0000

Viacom, the parent company of MT V announced today that they are in talks to sell off Harmonix. Harmonix is a Massachusetts based subsidiary that developed the popular music video game Rock Band. Viacom had recorded $260 million in write-offs on the value of Harmonix for the third quarter.

“Harmonix has and will continue to create terrific video games, but for us it is about focus,” stated Viacom’s CEO Philippe Dauman. “The console games business requires an expertise and scale that we don’t have.”

MTV bought Harmonix in 2006 for $175 million in cash plus a two-year earns-out. Although the games Harmonix sells have positive reviews, the company had a loss of $65 million EBITDA. Some of the potential buyers for Harmonix include Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and Activision.

[DealBook]

Viacom’s Court Loss Could Make YouTube Profitable

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:35:58 +0000

Today a judge threw out a $1 billion copyright lawsuit filed by Viacom against YouTube. This lawsuit has been dragging out ever since Google bought YouTube. YouTube is now protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Essentially Viacom could not prove that YouTube failed to remove video clips after being notified about copyright infringement.

“This is an important victory not just for us, but also for the billions of people around the world who use the web to communicate and share experiences with each other. We’re excited about this decision and look forward to renewing our focus on supporting the incredible variety of ideas and expression that billions of people post and watch on YouTube every day around the world,” stated Google VP and General Counsel Kent Walker.

Now that this major obstacle has been removed, there is a good chance that YouTube could be profitable. This is huge news since the last time I heard, YouTube costs about $2 million a day to keep online based on storage and distribution costs.

[FT.com]

Forget VJs! MTV Looking To Hire Twitter Jockey.

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:46:09 +0000

MTV is on the hunt to hire a social media expert for a position called Twitter Jockey. The Twitter Jockey will interact with MTV fans constantly. Currently MTV has 18 potential candidates, but is looking to hire two more.

On August 8, five finalists will compete for the job live on the air. The Twitter Jockey will also report during MTV events such as the Video Music Awards, similar to the way that iJustine did in September 2009. The MTV Twitter Jockey will be based in New York and will earn a six figure salary.

To nominate someone for the job, visit http://tj.mtv.com/open-nomination/

Viacom Claims YouTube “Was Intentionally Built on Infringement”

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:11:57 +0000

Viacom, the parent company of brands such as MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Spike TV, etc. filed a lawsuit against Google shortly after they acquired YouTube. Within the last 24 hours, legal documents in the copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube by Viacom were made public. Below is a statement that Viacom released [Viacom.com]:

YouTube was intentionally built on infringement and there are countless internal YouTube communications demonstrating that YouTube’s founders and its employees intended to profit from that infringement. By their own admission, the site contained “truckloads” of infringing content and founder Steve Chen explained that YouTube needed to “steal” videos because those videos make “our traffic soar.”

Google bought YouTube because it was a haven of infringement. Google knew that YouTube’s popularity depended on infringing materials with several senior Google executives warning that YouTube was a “rogue enabler of content theft.” Instead of complying with the law, Google willfully and knowingly chose to continue YouTube’s illegal practices.

Google and YouTube had the technology to stop infringement at any time but deliberately chose not to use it. They would only offer to protect Viacom’s content if Viacom agreed to license those works, effectively holding copyright protection as ransom for a license.

The law is clear that Google and YouTube are liable for their infringement. The Supreme Court unanimously held in Grokster that a service that intends infringement is liable for that infringement. No case has ever suggested that the DMCA immunizes rampant intentional infringement of the sort Google and YouTube have engaged in.

These facts are undisputed. The statements by Google regarding Viacom activities are merely red herrings and have no relevance on the legal facts of this case.

Joost Is Further Fading Into Irrelevance

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:25:42 +0000

Joost was started by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis back in October 2006. The company raised about $45 million in funding shortly after starting up. Investors included Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Viacom, CBS and Li Ka-shing. Joost killed off their desktop application and became purely a web service in September 2008.

Joost announced that they have replaced former CEO Mike Volpi. Joost SVP of Engineering Matt Zelesko will be replacing Volpi. However Volpi will remain as Chairman of the board.

As a result of Joost’s lack of growth compared to YouTube, Hulu, and other video services Joost has decided to focus on providing video platforms for bigger companies. There will also be major layoffs. Joost employs about 100 people in New York and London.

[via Reuters]