Google Wins Copyright Suit Brought by French Television Station

Companies with valuable intellectual property have to protect their assets, in part by keeping up with the changing domestic and international laws that regulate copyrights, trademarks and patents. In a recent lawsuit ,TF1, a popular French television station, sued Google in a French court. The lawsuit hinged on the question of who was responsible for copyright-infringing material posted on the Internet. TF1 claimed that Google should be liable for copyright infringement for copies of its television shows that users had posted on YouTube, which Google owns. The court, however, found in Google’s favor and dismissed the television company’s claims. TF1 is considering an appeal, calling the decision “surprising in several respects.”

The court based its decision on its finding that YouTube was a “hosting” service, and therefore was not responsible for advance screening of videos that users posted, as long as it had a procedure in place for removing videos once copyright owners notified it that infringing material was on the site.

The Wall Street Journal commented that this decision and other decisions in similar lawsuits against YouTube could affect the way that video content is distributed on the Internet in the future. Television and movie companies want to air their shows on their own websites and keep all the advertising revenue for themselves, while Google wants licensing deals that would let it broadcast the shows and split the advertising and consumer-payment revenue. “Google victories,” the WSJ wrote, “would mean that media companies have more incentive to play ball.”

WeComply’s protecting intellectual property course explains the fundamental principles of patents, trademarks and copyrights.

Categories: General Business Compliance
Tags: Intellectual Property