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Viacom: Videos
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Viacom and Google’s YouTube are in the discovery phase of their lawsuit, and Google says it wants to put Colbert and Stewart on the stand along with 30 others. “Both comedians have made favorable comments about YouTube and might be of use to the video-sharing site,” points out PaidContent. But it’s far from a done deal. “Courts don’t let you go on fishing expeditions,” explains one attorney. “If people are added for tactical reasons rather than for legal reasons it’s almost always scorned.”
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Media conglomerate Viacom Inc (VIAb.N) is not in talks to buy video game maker Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO.O), a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, disputing reports of an offer. Reports on the Web and a video games trade publication Web site said Viacom had offered $1.5 billion to buy the maker of the popular Grand Theft Auto games franchise, citing unnamed sources. Shares of Take-Two rose as much as 12 percent on Thursday.
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Viacom recently decided to go its own way on video-sharing after talks with Google broke down, signing a content deal with a YouTube competitor, the Europe-based startup Joost. MySpace has been a major platform for News Corp.’s video, offering a hefty number of clips and sneak peeks of Fox content. Levinsohn did say that a major obstacle to pacting with other congloms is ensuring that those in charge of digital operations have the ear of the conglom chiefs. Digital divisions have gained clout in recent months but still may not have as much sway in the exec suite as they may need.
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Viacom's filings demonstrate a basic misunderstanding about users' rights. Viacom complains that YouTube allows users to share "unauthorized" materials, yet "unauthorized" does not always equal "illegal" or "infringing." There are many ways in which fans' posting short clips can constitute fair use, such as excerpting for commentary or news reporting. Indeed, Viacom's takedowns last month led to the removal of a variety of non-infringing videos.
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Once embedded on user sites, the Viacom video clips can be grabbed by visitors to those sites and posted to their own sites. The player ... allows users to rate videos, and click to search for other Viacom clips. The embedded clips also have an expiration date.
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Both NBCU and Viacom filed a friend of the court brief opposing YouTube’s efforts to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Robert Tur, who sued YouTube over his Reginald Denny beating video. NBCU made it clear in the court papers that it had not sued YouTube itself. “Many of NBCU’s most valuable copyrighted works have been copied, performed, and disseminated without authorization by YouTube and other similarly operated Websites,” the brief said. “NBCU has a strong interest in preserving the strength and viability of all of its legal rights and remedies in response to such conduct.”
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