Google: Viacom's Built to Sue
Google's CEO Eric Schmidt took a swipe at Viacom Friday, saying the company was "built from lawsuits" and pointed to its litigious history. Schmidt's comments were made to reporters at a hotel bar at the annual Allen & Co. meeting of media moguls.
Viacom is currently suing Google subsidiary YouTube for $1 billion, claiming "massive copyright infringement." Both sides have failed to reach an agreement.
The company recently named its former general counsel of 20 years Philipe Dauman to the position of CEO, which Schmidt pointed out, as well as mentioning Viacom's 1989 suit against Time Warner.
Viacom accused Time Warner's subsidiary HBO of bullying cable operators into giving the premium channel preferential treatment. The suit was settled out of court in 1992 for $75 million among several other concessions.