Viacom Sues Google

Gaaa!
The first salvo has been fired. Viacom has sued Google over YouTube's turning a blind eye to users uploading copyrighted content belonging to Viacom. Viacom's properties include MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central -- yes, so much for those Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert clips. In a statement, Viacom claims that YouTube was "destroying enormous value" in allowing Viacom's content to be available freely on the site. And there you have it -- the problem with this lawsuit -- that YouTube is destroying value belonging to the content owners. YouTube has about 70 million users and even more viewers. Their reach is enormous. You want to become a hit, get your video on YouTube and you stand a good chance. I seriously doubt that Stewart and Colbert would have built such a fanbase, if it wasn't for online sharing of their video clips. Even Microsoft is admitting that piracy does have its merits -- it gets to people who may not otherwise consume your creation, and once you reach them, if your content is valued, you will convert them to customers. Even if they don't buy, your brand is strengthened. So what's with Viacom?

Viacom is looking for $1B from Google, and for them to filter all Viacom content from YouTube. What short term thinking.

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