Did YouTube Employees Upload Pirated Videos To Bump Up The Site’s Traffic?
Oct 6th, 2009 | By James Lewin | Category: Internet TV, Streaming Video, Video 
Lawyers working on a $1 billion copyright lawsuit, filed by Viacom against Google’s YouTube, may have found evidence that YouTube employees uploaded pirated videos to the site, in order to bump up traffic.
According to a CNET News article:
Internal YouTube e-mails indicate that YouTube managers knew and discussed the existence of unauthorized content on the site with employees but chose not to remove the material.
The e-mails, according to the sources who asked for anonymity because of the ongoing litigation, surfaced during an exchange of information between the two sides of the legal dispute. They are one of the cornerstones of Viacom’s case, as well as that of a separate class action lawsuit filed against Google and YouTube by a group of content owners, the sources said.
“If the facts are accurate, Google will have a very difficult time claiming that its staff members don’t undermine its protection,” notes entertainment attorney Roger Goff.
If YouTube was actively encouraging copyright violations, it could lead to a rush of similar lawsuits against Google.
While YouTube has claimed it goes after copyright violations, about all it's done is to remove the audio from some videos. There's still tons of illegal material on YouTube.
[…] October 12, 2009 by A Podcasting Blog from Podcasting Tools – Daily Podcasting News and Information for Podcasters and Listeners. Filed under Podcasting Tips Lawyers working on a $1 billion copyright lawsuit, filed by Viacom against Googles YouTube, may have found evidence that YouTube employees uploaded pirated videos to the site, in order to bump up traffic. complete article […]