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YouTubeLaunched in Feb. 2005; Purchased by Google, October, 2006 Sued by Viacom, |
Viacom Pokes YouTube In the EyeBy George Ziemann -- March 13, 2007 Viacom is suing YouTube for a billion dollars. Yes, it's another one of the "you're stealing our stuff" cases. This one has a slight twist, in that Viacom may have a trace of logic in its case. In case you don't know, Viacom is an entertainment conglomerate that includes (among others) BET, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Country Music Television, Spike TV, and TV Land. They also own iFilm, which (I believe) has been around longer than YouTube. So, unlike the record labels in their suits against everyone, Viacom actually has a service which competes with YouTube. I think that's a big difference. With the record labels, it seems like they're suing companies for doing things that the labels should have thought of first were they in possession of a clue. Viacom is just suing YouTube for doing it better. Fox seems to be the only major force to grasp how this Internet thing works. I've watched a couple of episodes of 24 online and it actually seems better than watching it on TV. There are still a couple of commercials in every episode, but they're only about 30 seconds each, which reduces an hour show to about 45 minutes. That's really beside the point, which is that all of the lawsuits going on in the entertainment world seem like a malignant cancer that will eventually kill its host. The industry seems intent on targeting anything that the audience likes. What they don't seem to realize is that the audience doesn't like that. Every time the audience gets a new toy, the big bullies try to break it. In the end, the biggest fans (of whatever it is) are the ones who will most likely be punished. Legal considerations aside, who else would bother to spend the time to digitize and upload a video clip of a show? Their competitors? People that hate the show? No. It'll always be the fans. Doesn't matter if you're talking about music, movies or television. Sue the people who like you the most -- they're the ones who will still upload a clip, knowing full well that they shouldn't, but it doesn't matter because, well... they can. "Besides," they'll tell you, "you just gotta see this..." Followup -- March 22 -- Cart having passed, horse follows. Oct. 2006 Musicians Won't See a Dime From YouTube Deal I Hear the Fat Lady... by George Ziemann Urgent Message for YouTube Users by Mike Steely |
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