Google and Viacom have announced the resolution of the Viacom vs. YouTube copyright litigation. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The agreement came just days before the two companies were set to meet in court again on Monday, March 24. In a unsual brief press release, the companies issued the following statement:
“Google and Viacom today jointly announced the resolution of the Viacom vs. YouTube copyright litigation. This settlement reflects the growing collaborative dialogue between our two companies on important opportunities, and we look forward to working more closely together.”
Although no details were released by the two companies, several US reports suggest that no money was involved in the settlement.
In March 2007 Viacom sued YouTube and Google, who just acquired the web video portal, alleging that they should be held responsible for the copyright infringements committed by YouTube users. The lawsuit seeks more than $1 billion for usage of clips from MTV, Comedy Central and other Viacom-owned channels.
The case dragged on for seven years, but a decision in 2010 by US District Court Judge Louis Stanton ruled largely in YouTube’s favour. Viacom appealed that decision, but in April 2012 a Second Circuit court sent the case back down to Stanton, who repeated his ruling in 2013.
