Posts Tagged ‘ legal battles ’

Wedding Podcasts In Battle To The Death

Oct 3rd, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: Podcasting Law

Weddings aren’t all faith, love and happiness.
There’s usually a bit of abject terror mixed in and something - be it the bridesmaid’s dresses, the flowers or the dj - from hell itself. 
Case in point: A rivalry between two wedding podcasters has devolved into a battle to the death - at least for one of the [...]



YouTube’s Legal Troubles Grow By $779 Million

Jul 30th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: General, Internet TV, Streaming Video

Google’s YouTube troubles just got kicked up a notch.
Italian media company Mediaset SpA is suing YouTube and its owner, Google, for at least 500 million euros ($779 million).
Mediaset claims that Google and YouTube carried out the “illegal distribution and commercial use of audio and video files,” according to a Bloomberg report:
According to a sample analysis [...]



97% Of YouTube’s Videos Are Deadweight

Jul 22nd, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: Internet TV, Streaming Video, Video

Google’s problem with YouTube is even bigger than many thought.
More than 97% of YouTube’s videos are deadweight - videos that the company can’t put ads on.
According to Silicon Alley Insider’s Michael Learmonth:
We know Google’s (GOOG) YouTube is a tough sell for advertisers. But video site’s sales team may be having an even tougher time than [...]



Google, Viacom Agree To Avoid Media Privacy Debacle

Jul 15th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: General, Internet TV, Podcasting Law, Video

Google announced today that it had reached an agreement with Viacom that will avoid a media debacle over YouTube users privacy:
As we let you know on July 4, YouTube received a court order to produce viewing history data. We are pleased to report that Viacom, MTV and other litigants have backed off their original demand [...]



It’s Time For Google To Settle With Viacom, Get On With Making YouTube A Business

Jul 9th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: Citizen Media, Commentary, Featured Story, Internet TV, Streaming Video, Video

Google’s got a big problem with YouTube - the melting-pot nature of user-generated media.

This, along with a billion-dollar lawsuit, courtesy of Viacom, is keeping Google from making money on 96% of its content.

It’s time for Google to settle with Viacom, and get on with building a business based on what makes YouTube unique - user-generated media.



YouTube Ready To Give Up Your Personal Browsing Info

Jul 7th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: Featured Story, General, Internet TV, Streaming Video, Video

A few days ago, we suggested that YouTube Needs To Grow A Spine, arguing that YouTube needs to “unequivocally state that they will defend your right to privacy, even if that means taking this all the way to the Supreme Court”.

Now others are starting to weigh in, and it looks like we are not alone in thinking that YouTube needs to grow a spine, if not more….



Using Internet Media To Fight Domestic Surveillance

Jul 7th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: General

Four-hour work week author and blogger Tim Ferris talked to Daniel Ellsberg about new FISA (Foreign Information and Surveillance Act) amendments that promise to let big telecommunications off the hook, retroactively, for giving the government access to spy on you without warrant, and to make this type of activity legal.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of [...]



YouTube Needs To Grow A Spine

Jul 5th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: General, Internet TV, Podcasting Law, Streaming Video, Video

YouTube has responded to a federal court order requiring the company, as part of Viacom’s billion dollar lawsuit, to give Viacom copies of YouTube’s server log files.
These log files are needed by Viacom to help it determine the extent to which YouTube has been used to distribute copyrighted content without permission.
However, Viacom doesn’t need the [...]



Viacom’s Billion-Dollar YouTube Lawsuit Just Turned Ugly

Jul 3rd, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: Streaming Video, Video, Video Podcasts, Vlogs

Viacom’s billion dollar lawsuit against Google is getting ugly. The federal court hearing the case has ordered (pdf) Google to provide Viacom with “all data from the Logging database concerning each time a YouTube video has been viewed on the YouTube website or through embedding on a third-party website”.
The ruling brings a new twist to [...]



Will Screen Actors Strike Over Web Clips?

May 15th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: General

It’s starting to look like members of the Screen Actors Guild may be heading for a strike like the recent Writers’ strike.
Studios have suspended talks with the Screen Actors Guild after three weeks of negotiations. One of the main reasons for the breakdown in talks is that actors balked at a studio proposal that would [...]