YouTube’s Legal Woes Continue

NEW YORK, May 7: NBC Universal and Viacom are supporting
journalist Robert Tur’s copyright infringement suit against YouTube, which is
also facing a class-action lawsuit filed by English football’s Premier League
and U.S. independent music publisher Bourne Co.

According to wire reports, NBC Universal and Viacom filed a
“friend of the court” brief on Friday in California District Court opposing
YouTube’s motion to dismiss a case brought against it by Robert Tur, founder of
the Los Angeles News Service. Tur is suing YouTube for its dissemination of his
footage of trucker Reginald Denny being beaten during the 1992 Los Angeles
riots.

Reuters cites NBC Universal’s court filing as saying:
"Many of NBCU's most valuable copyrighted works have been copied,
performed, and disseminated without authorization by YouTube and other
similarly operated websites. NBCU has a strong interest in preserving the
strength and viability of all of its legal rights and remedies in response to
such conduct."

On the same day, the Football Association Premier League and
independent music publisher Bourne Co. filed a class action lawsuit in federal
court in New York citing copyright infringement. The complaint notes:
"Defendants are pursuing a deliberate strategy of engaging in, permitting,
encouraging, and facilitating massive copyright infringement on the YouTube
website.” It further alleges that YouTube has “long been aware of this pattern
of massive infringement” but has failed to correct the problem. The lawsuit
also asks for unspecified damages.

A statement issued by law firm Proskauer Rose, one of two
practices hired to represent the plaintiffs (the other is Bernstein Litowitz
Berger & Grossmann), notes: “The Premier League and Bourne plan to prosecute
this case as a class action on behalf of themselves and thousands of others
whose copyrighted works have appeared on YouTube.com without permission.”

Meanwhile, YouTube is still facing a $1-billion copyright
infringement suit brought by Viacom in March.