Google Already Defending in Video Copyright Case
A Google quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission has revealed that the company is fighting a copyright infringement claim against its Google Video service, along with suits against some of its other online products.
The video-related lawsuit could underline the danger that Google’s planned purchase of video-sharing Web site YouTube will expose the company to large liability for pirated or copyrighted content uploaded to the site.
The SEC filing, entered last Wednesday and covering the quarter ended Sept. 30, reported that unnamed groups have filed copyright infringement claims against Google Video, as well as against Google News and Google Book Search.
While the case is being brought against Google’s own video site, the company conceded in the document that buying YouTube could expose it to more lawsuits. “Our planned acquisition of YouTube may also subject us to additional copyright claims upon the closing of the transaction,” the 10-Q filing said.
Since announcing plans to purchase YouTube for $1.65 billion, Google has been downplaying fears of looming infringement lawsuits. The company has pointed out that procedures already in place allow copyright owners to notify Google of unauthorized use, and that the company can then act quickly to take down the material.
At last week’s Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Google CEO Eric Schmidt denied allegations that the company had set aside a $500 million fund to pay for future YouTube-related infringement claims
YouTube recently removed 30,000 files that a Japanese group claimed had been posted to the site without proper copyright authorization.
