The courts granted Google a summary judgment in Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube last year. The issue was whether YouTube was protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a law that protects against claims of copyright infringement if the content was uploaded by users to an organization’s network. Although the lawsuit cost Google $100 million, it eventually prevailed.
It didn’t take long for Viacom to file an appeal. The media giant, which owns MTV, Paramount Pictures, and Comedy Central, called the court’s ruling “fundamentally flawed” in its appeal last year. Earlier this week, Google struck back with a 107-page response arguing for its humanitarian and social value, while criticizing what it calls Viacom’s use of selective quotes.
Now the tide is against Viacom once again. Today, no less than 13 different groups filed amicus briefs in support of Google in the YouTube/Viacom case. Here are the most interesting organizations throwing their weight behind Google.
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation. The EFF argues that Viacom’s theories “contravene the language and purpose of the DMCA, threatening online innovation and expression.”
- 44 law professors. A group of academics specializing in intellectual property and Internet law argue that Viacom is attempting to “distort the balance that Congress successfully crafted” with the DMCA.
- Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders and Access: This collection of human rights organizations argue that “social media platforms have become important...
