Viacom Sues Google for a Billion Dollars
Not satisfied with pulling their clips off YouTube (Twice. Indiscriminately.), Viacom is now suing YouTube owner Google for one billion dollars. That’s over half the price Google bought YouTube for, at 1.65 billion dollars.
Of course, we all know this flamboyant ten-figure gesture is just another impatiently greedy negotiating tactic for Viacom to pull in an early unfair share of the coming YouTube revenue split. Yes, they think they’re better than us regular YouTube uploaders. What everyone but Viacom knows, is that YouTubers now hate Viacom.
Best bit in the suit: “a large part of YouTube’s value is directly attributable to the availability of Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works on YouTube’s website.” What a deluded claim! Even Viacom itself claims only 100,000 clips on YouTube, whereas YouTubers upload almost two million new clips per month. Sure, Jon Stewart was a YouTube star for a while, but there are many others — many, many others.
That’s the key to social media’s resilience: it does not rely on a constellation of a few stars. As Steve Rubel likes to say, media is now a galaxy of stars and planets, each with its own center of gravity. In the media galaxy, Viacom is a dying star becoming nothing but a destructive black hole.
(Via Mia Dand.)
26 opinions for Viacom Sues Google for a Billion Dollars
Viacom Sues Google
Mar 13, 2007 at 11:22 pm
[…] Viacom is suing Google. What a bunch of losers. […]
Emerging Earth - Google Unconcerned by Viacom’s Billion-Dollar Lawsuit
Mar 14, 2007 at 4:07 am
[…] Even before receiving a copy of Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit, Google has released a response. […]
Emerging Earth - The Geek’s Guide to Good and Evil
Mar 19, 2007 at 1:26 am
[…] Jon Stewart is good, but his bosses at Viacom are evil. Maybe he should cut a deal with YouTube. Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by […]
Emerging Earth - Queen of MySpace Bashes MySpace
Mar 21, 2007 at 1:39 am
[…] thinks they should’ve done more widget blocking sooner. In fact, they’re sharing the Viacom delusion and claiming credit for YouTube’s growth. “We probably should have stopped YouTube,” […]
Emerging Earth - Teen Plays on YouTube Paranoia
Apr 15, 2007 at 5:45 pm
[…] Michael Crook. What surprises me is that he’d actually get this far. Seems YouTube’s recent legal hassles really got them […]
Inside Online Video - Viacom Concedes to Fair Use on YouTube
Apr 24, 2007 at 10:42 am
[…] While they’re at it, they should drop that ridiculous lawsuit against Google. […]
Inside Online Video - Storm Berry TV: Online Subtitling for YouTube Videos
Apr 25, 2007 at 10:11 am
[…] Since Storm Berry TV doesn’t actually host videos, they should be free and clear of YouTube’s legal hassles — unless, of course, those RIAA douchebags go copyright trolling for lyrics. First adopters: […]
Inside Online Video - Google DEMANDS a Fight with Viacom!
May 1, 2007 at 7:53 am
[…] not only chooses to fight Viacom’s $1 billion dollar lawsuit over YouTube. They demand a fight. “By seeking to make carriers and hosting providers liable for Internet […]
THIS. IS. YOUTUUUUUUBE!!!
May 1, 2007 at 9:37 am
[…] threaten my people with slavery and death. Oh, Chad’s chosen his words carefully, Viacom. Perhaps you […]
Inside Online Video
May 14, 2007 at 7:09 am
[…] Viacom and NBC, CBS understands the value of online video superdistribution. That’s why […]
Pirate Bay Launches YouTube Clone
May 18, 2007 at 10:10 pm
[…] tracker The Pirate Bay laughs in the face of all the copyright trolling nonsense that plagues YouTube. That’s why their new streaming video sharing site, The Video Bay, will probably not honor […]
CBS Buys Wallstrip
May 26, 2007 at 5:11 am
[…] to Wallstrip on their multi-million-dollar payday. Unlike its competitors, CBS understands the value of online video superdistribution. Wallstrip creator […]
YouTube Partners with Hearst-Argyle TV
Jun 4, 2007 at 5:17 am
[…] If YouTube continues Google’s success in making almost all content creators potential AdSense publishers, I can foresee everyone becoming a potential YouTube partner within five years. Well, everyone except Viacom. […]
YouTube to Test Video Fingerprinting Solution by Google
Jun 12, 2007 at 1:07 pm
[…] a move that will spare them a lot more stupid lawsuits, YouTube announced yesterday that they will test a new video fingerprinting technology next month. […]
YouTube Video Fingerprinting: More Than Meets the Googlebot’s Eye?
Jul 29, 2007 at 8:22 am
[…] off YouTube. Those Googlers work fast. Phillip Beck, one of the lawyers representing Google in Viacom’s stupid billion-dollar lawsuit against the video-sharing site, says the system could be operational as early as September. […]
Google Wants to Question Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert in Viacom Suit
Aug 13, 2007 at 11:02 pm
[…] In the geek’s guide to good and evil, Viacom is evil, but Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are good. Both Stewart and Colbert were also YouTube stars before Viacom took their clips down. Colbert in particular has been known to support viral video mashups. That’s probably why YouTube owner Google wants to question the two Viacom-employed comedians in Viacom’s billion-dollar suit against Google. […]
MTV Thinks It Can Beat iTunes with RealNetworks
Aug 21, 2007 at 3:13 am
[…] orphaned MTV’s music store in favor of the lame-o Zune. MTV is owned by the idiots at Viacom. MTV doesn’t even play much music anymore. That’s why when I heard that MTV […]
YouTube’s New Ads Could Make $13 Billion
Aug 22, 2007 at 8:32 am
[…] TV ads made last year, and more than thirty-five times what all online video ads currently make. Billion-dollar lawsuits? […]
Viacom Accuses Copyright Owner of Copyright Infringement!
Aug 31, 2007 at 5:46 am
[…] it sound too stupid too be true. No doubt this stupidity comes from Viacom’s insane rage at YouTube, but it’s stupidity nevertheless. If you still can’t believe it, you can download the […]
Renetto - Tube It
Sep 2, 2007 at 6:43 am
[…] YouTube Song and Welcome to the YouTube Nation. Funny, I’ve never heard anyone sing odes to Viacom or […]
Viacom CEO Wants More DRM, Disses Net Neutrality
Oct 3, 2007 at 8:12 am
[…] these guys are also suing YouTube for — say it in a Dr. Evil voice, everyone — one BILLION dollars! I don’t know what business strategy involves embodying everything your customers […]
Viacom Loses $1B Suit Vs. YouTube
Mar 11, 2008 at 3:10 am
[…] I’m surprised it took a whole year to junk this ridiculous suit. That’s what happens to lazy old media giants who make stuff up […]
South Park Weakens Viacom Argument Against YouTube
Apr 5, 2008 at 10:38 am
[…] an episode where a whole bunch of YouTube stars get slaughtered. South Park is a Viacom show, and Viacom is suing YouTube for $1 billion. This YouTube massacre must be wish-fulfillment for […]
Viacom Will Sue You
Jul 3, 2008 at 2:22 pm
[…] Viacom just sacrificed your privacy to further their billion-dollar legal harassment of YouTube. […]
YouTube Responds to Viacom
Jul 5, 2008 at 12:07 am
[…] claims they need your personal YouTube information, purportedly to prove their claim that most YouTube views came from Viacom content. The latter claim is patently ridiculous, and so is the […]
Viacom Backs Down on Suing You
Jul 12, 2008 at 11:21 am
[…] suspect this is not the last we’ll hear of Viacom’s shenanigans in their billion-dollar suit against YouTube. Good work fighting them off this time, guys. Let’s remain vigilant, lest they try something […]
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