YouTube Clip Lambasting Thai King Removed
A YouTube user responsible for creating a 44-second clip mocking Thailand's king Bhumibol Adulyadej removed the clip sometime Thursday, however a ban on the site within the country still remains. According to the Thai government, two offensive images were still on the popular social video site, and until those are removed the ban would stay in place.
Adulyadej is revered as near-divine in Thailand and criticizing or offending royalty is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. However, the country has also been criticized for its shaky commitment to democracy, and has seen 18 separate coups in just the past 75 years. In responding to the Thais, YouTube said it would look into the matter, although it aims to provide a community where users are free to express themselves.
Viacom: DMCA No Defense for YouTube
In an editorial for the Washington Post this morning, Viacom general counsel Michael Fricklas defended what observers are remarking may be an unpopular position. Fricklas argued that YouTube cannot effectively shield itself from prosecution using the "safe harbor" provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, saying there's no way YouTube's millions of customers can be aware that copyright infringement takes place on the site while the company itself remains oblivious.
"YouTube's own terms of use give it clear rights," Fricklas writes, "notably the right to take anything down. YouTube actively monitors its content. For example, its managers remove pornography and hate content and, as was recently reported, claim they can detect and remove 'spam.' Without knowledge and control, how could YouTube create 'channels' and 'featured videos' sections on its site? YouTube has even offered to find infringing content for copyright owners - but only if they do a licensing deal first."
Viacom Lawsuit Accuses YouTube of Outright Piracy
In its lawsuit against Google and its YouTube subsidiary which came to light yesterday, Viacom not only alleges that YouTube is guilty of massive copyright infringement by allowing its users to post unauthorized content without restrictions or filtering, but the corporation goes one step further: It accuses YouTube of actually reproducing and posting some unauthorized content itself.
"YouTube itself publicly performs the infringing videos on the YouTube site and other websites," Viacom's lawsuit proclaims. "Thus, YouTube does not simply enable massive infringement by its users. It is YouTube that knowingly reproduces and publicly performs the copyrighted works uploaded to its site."
Viacom Files Landmark Copyright Case Against Google, YouTube
The case that will likely determine the future of the online video sharing industry at least, and the Internet media economy at most, has been filed. Viacom, one of the world's largest media rights holders, has sued Google in federal court in New York, seeking $1 billion in damages for an estimated 1.5 billion separate infringements of copyright.
Viacom's legal team released a four-paragraph statement this morning, which is best read in its entirety:
Fox Interactive Hints of MySpace Expansion to Battle YouTube
In carefully calculated statements made yesterday at a financial analysts' retreat yesterday in Palm Beach, Florida, new Fox Interactive Media president Peter Levinsohn was quoted by Variety as saying the on-again/off-again talks between his parent company, News Corp., and representatives of other major media companies to collectively build an online video sharing destination, are on again. He later hinted that MySpace -- the jewel in the FIM crown -- would be the platform on which that destination would be built.
"We're in very active negotiations with all of the media companies to create the most robust video offering from professional content on the Web," Variety quotes Levinsohn as saying, in a response that may have arisen to a simple inquiry about FIM's efforts to protect its content online.
Turkey Blocks Access to YouTube
Access to YouTube from within Turkey was blocked Wednesday after prosecutors pointed out videos insulting the founder of the modern version of the country were appearing on the site.
Laws within the country forbid such comments that place Mustafa Kemal Ataturk or Turkey in general in a bad light, and are punishable by a prison term.
YouTube to Add Three BBC-Branded Channels
The BBC has beaten ITV to the goal line in signing a content deal - the terms and length of which have not been disclosed - with YouTube, the streaming video division of Google. Starting today, YouTube has begun offering three new BBC-branded channels containing sharable clips from BBC programmes (spelled here using the Queen's English), though it appears this morning that these clips will be mostly promotional.
The main BBC channel will be classified as a "public service" - which is an important distinction, because the BBC is not a private corporation. It receives its funding from license fees collected by the British government from citizens, so any BBC enterprise that would overtly feature commercial advertising might come under scrutiny by subscribers, and under fire in Parliament.
YouTube Launches NBA-branded Channel
A partnership between the NBA and YouTube will allow users of the popular site to view original content from the league, as well as post their own videos to share with others.
The most popular videos will then be featured on a weekly show on the NBA's cable network called "NBA Top 10 on YouTube. The feature was launched on Monday, the league said.
CBS, YouTube Deal Stalls Out
YouTube's deals with the traditional media companies continued to unravel, with The Wall Street Journal saying Wednesday that CBS is the latest casualty. At issue were disagreements on the language of the deal. Sources told the paper that Google and CBS would work on smaller partnerships instead, leaving the door open to restarting talks in the future.
The loss of CBS' content follows Viacom, which abruptly pulled its videos off YouTube earlier this month. Companies including Viacom have also considered developing a YouTube competitor on their own, however talks there have not gone anywhere. Neither CBS nor YouTube had any comment.
Viacom to Promote YouTube-like Features on Sites
Viacom is wasting no time in moving on from dealing with YouTube, as the company is planning to aggressively promote new functionality on ComedyCentral.com in the coming months, and others in the future.
Functionality will be provided directly from the site itself that allows users to embed and share videos much like the popular social video site. Users will be permitted to show the video for a period of one month after it is posted.
YouTube Creators Split $650 Million
The two co-founders behind YouTube received Google stock valued at about $650 million, according to a regulatory filing made with the US Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday, while Sequoia Capital, the VC firm that backed YouTube walked away with around $450 million based on Google's current share price.
Google for the first time detailed the $1.65 billion acquisition in the filing, saying YouTube CEO Chad Hurley received 694,087 shares of Google common stock, while co-founder Steve Chen received 625,366 shares and another 68,721 shares held in a trust.
New NBC Universal Chief Takes Hard Line on YouTube
The day of his coronation as the new CEO of NBC Universal, replacing long-time executive and GE appointee Robert Wright, Jeff Zucker wasted no time taking a stand against YouTube, taking the video sharing site and NBCU partner to task for failing to implement copyright protections.
The public statement, along with the new division of labor in his organization in addition to comments made for The New York Times this morning, are fueling speculation that Zucker's company may be planning to expand its own experiment in video sharing, perhaps becoming a competitor to YouTube.
YouTube Studio Deals Unraveling
Reuters is reporting that Viacom, the parent company of MTV Networks, whose Comedy Central unit produces The Daily Show and South Park, among others, has retracted its agreement with Google's YouTube unit reached last October, and is asking Google to remove videos of programming it produces from public access.
Relations between the two organizations have been shaky since May 2005, when Viacom Corp. issued a subpoena to YouTube (which was then not owned by Google) asking it to remove extended clips of the movie Twin Towers, produced by Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures. Last October, Viacom, Inc. had appeared to reach an agreement with YouTube that would have enabled it to carry clips of MTV Networks-produced shows.
YouTube to Add Pre-Roll Video Ads
Touting the effort as a way to "reward creativity," YouTube founder Chad Hurley confirmed to BBC News that the company plans to add commercials to the start of uploaded videos, and give users a cut of the profits. But details are still scarce at the moment.
The effort isn't surprising: Google has begun making a foray into video advertising, partnering with a number of Web sites to deliver Flash-based movies within ad boxes. When it purchased YouTube last year for an astounding $1.67 billion, Google was clear that it planned to recoup the investment through advertising.
Fox Looks to Identify YouTube Leaker
Fox is attempting to uncover the identity of a YouTube user that uploaded recent episodes of the network's hit television shows "24" and "The Simpsons" to the service without its permission, a blog reported Wednesday.
Details of a subpoena granted by a U.S. District Judge in San Francisco were first reported by Google Watch. A smaller video site, LiveDigital, also received a subpoena as part of the legal action.
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