Insider Chatter by Donna Bogatin

Think Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against Google’s YouTube for “massive copyright infringement” is big?

Watch out: The copyright infringement class action claims against YouTube are mounting and represent just the “tip of the iceberg,” according to lead plaintiff in the class action, The Football Association Premier League Limited (Premier League).

I spoke yesterday with Louis Solomon, co-chair of the Litigation Department of Proskauer Rose LLP, the attorneys prosecuting the class action begun last month.

Solomon told me that his firm has been contacted by “dozens” of copyright owners alleging infringemet of their content at YouTube. Among them:

Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co., owner of 65,000 copyrights,
Federation Francaise de Tennis, organizer of the French Open,
Ligue de Football Professional, manager of the French Supercup.

All three copyright owners have joined in “strong” public support of the pending class action against YouTube organized by lead plaintiffs Premier League and Bourne Co., Solomon told me.

What does it mean?

If the latest public pronouncements against Google’s YouTube alleged copyright infringement are indeed but the “tip of the iceberg,” Google could face legal claims of Titanic proportions!

While Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against Google gets all the media attention, the pending class action is a potential Google copyright infringment bomb in the making. How so? The class action is openended, meaning there is no theoretical limit to the number of copyright infringement claims that Google may face in the class action.

Whats more, Viacom has an ally in the class action lawsuit. Solomon told me both Viacom and the class action are on a mutual trajectory in taking action against Google and YouTube to protect the value of copyrights.

Lead class action plaintiff Premier League:

The Internet is increasingly important as a medium for the distribution of entertainment, sports, and other content, but nothing gives YouTube the right to build its buisness based on the hard work of others without their permission and without payment. We anticipate these latest parties are just the tip of the iceberg, and more will follow.

It is our intention to demonstrate the technology currently being used to take and exploit copyrighted works can be just as effectively used to police and prevent unauthorized posting of creastive works. This will allow content owners and creators to choose how their works will be distributed electonically without first being subjected to wide scale infringement on the YouTube site.

In other words, Google: If News Corp’s MySpace can protect copyright why can’t your YouTube!

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