Google: YouTube operates in a legal manner

updated 8:55 p.m. ET April 30, 2007

NEW YORK - Google Inc. on Monday filed a response to Viacom Inc.’s copyright infringement lawsuit over Google’s massively popular video-sharing sharing site YouTube, arguing that the site’s activities are legal.

Viacom had sued Google on March 13, claiming that YouTube has used digital technology to “willfully infringe copyrights on a huge scale,” facilitating the unauthorized viewing of many pieces of Viacom’s programing from MTV, Comedy Central and other networks, such as “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

In a response filed in federal court in New York late Monday, Google said that YouTube respects the importance of copyrights and goes above and beyond what is required under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which gives Web hosts protection from copyright lawsuits so long as they comply with requests to remove unauthorized material.

YouTube says its cooperates with holders of copyrights and immediately complies with requests to have unauthorized material removed from the site.

MORE FROM U.S. BUSINESS

U.S. business Section Front

Roy Disney, nephew of Walt, dead at 79 Bank of America to make internal hire for CEO Citi to launch a $20.5 billion fire sale of stock Workers: AT&T owes $1 billion in overtime pay Feds accuse Intel of stifling competition Citigroup gains huge tax break in deal with IRS Boeing has much to prove with 787 EBay’s plans to compete surprised Craigslist Companies must reveal more about pay: SEC EU drops Microsoft antitrust charges U.S. business Section Front   Add U.S. business headlines to your news reader: