<img title="Image: http://www.myvivvo.com/thumbnail.php?file=youtube_scripps_356494922.jpg&amp;size=article_medium" src="http://www.myvivvo.com/thumbnail.php?file=youtube_scripps_356494922.jpg&amp;size=article_medium" alt="YouTube suit called threat to online communication">
										
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								<span>NEW YORK - A $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit 
challenging YouTube's ability to keep copyrighted material off its 
popular video-sharing site threatens how hundreds of millions of people 
exchange all kinds of information on the Internet, YouTube owner Google 
Inc. said.<br><br>Google's lawyers made the claim in papers filed in 
U.S. District Court in Manhattan as the company responded to Viacom 
Inc.'s latest lawsuit alleging that the Internet has led to "an 
explosion of copyright infringement" by YouTube and others.<br><br>The 
back-and-forth between the companies has intensified since Viacom 
brought its lawsuit last year, saying it was owed damages for the 
unauthorized viewing of its programming from MTV, Comedy Central and 
other networks, including such hits as "The Daily Show with Jon 
Stewart."<br><br>In papers submitted to a judge late Friday, Google said
 YouTube "goes far beyond its legal obligations in assisting content 
owners to protect their works."<br><br>It said that by seeking to make 
carriers and hosting providers liable for Internet communications, 
Viacom "threatens the way hundreds of millions of people legitimately 
exchange information, news, entertainment and political and artistic 
expression."<br><br>Google said YouTube was faithful to the requirements
 of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, saying the federal law 
was intended to protect companies like YouTube as long as they responded
 properly to content owners' claims of infringement.<br><br>On that score, Viacom says Google has set a terrible example.<br><br>In
 a rewritten lawsuit filed last month, Viacom said YouTube consistently 
allows unauthorized copies of popular television programming and movies 
to be posted on its Web site and viewed tens of thousands of times.<br><br>Viacom
 said it had identified more than 150,000 unauthorized clips of 
copyrighted programming — including "SpongeBob SquarePants," "South 
Park" and "MTV Unplugged" episodes and the documentary "An Inconvenient 
Truth" — that had been viewed "an astounding 1.5 billion times."<br><br>The
 company said its count of unauthorized clips represents only a fraction
 of the content on YouTube that violates its copyrights.<br><br>It said Google and YouTube had done "little or nothing" to stop infringement.<br><br>"To
 the contrary, the availability on the YouTube site of a vast library of
 the copyrighted works of plaintiffs and others is the cornerstone of 
defendants' business plan," Viacom said.</span>
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