Copyright Wars: Google Wins Round 1 in Viacom Lawsuit

For better or for worse, the wheels of justice can sometimes move at something less than lightning speed. Viacom Inc. filed a $1 billion federal court copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube more than three years ago and only this week the judge in the case 86d Viacom's complaint. [In technical legalese the judge granted YouTube's motion for summary judgment]. This doesn't mean that the case is over, and Viacom may still get its "day in court" - but the granting of the summary judgment motion is a bad sign for Viacom. Now it will have to appeal the court's decision to the federal court of appeals. We predict that the case will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court. Here is a good article which describes the latest developments in this case in greater detail.