The legal battle between YouTube and Viacom comes down to one central issue. Does the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) apply to YouTube or are they guilty of copyright infringement as Viacom alleges?
The DMCA does protect Internet companies from copyright infringement if rights holders request that a company removes copyrighted material. This is something that YouTube has complied with in the past. YouTube believes that since they do comply with take down request that Viacom’s suit against them will not hold up in court.
General Counsel for piece in the Washington Post Fricklas argues that the DMCA does not apply to
He goes on to point out that YouTube does not receive visitors because of their storage facility or technical functionality and that the reason people visit the site is for entertainment value. In addition he says YouTube receives financial gain by selling traffic to advertisers. Whichever side you believe to be correct, it is highly doubtful that the Viacom vs. YouTube suit will ever see a courtroom. Cynthia Brumfield makes a point that Viacom has approached the issue in the wrong way. She
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