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View Full Version : John Battelle's Searchblog: A Brief Interview with EFF's Fred von Lohmann on YouTube, Copyright, Google, and More


Jason Dunn
10-20-2006, 12:21 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://battellemedia.com/archives/002973.php' target='_blank'>http://battellemedia.com/archives/002973.php</a><br /><br /></div><i>"YouTube has already been sued (by LA New Service), so Google is essentially buying that lawsuit. But I don't think that's a problem -- frankly, precedent set against YouTube will likely exert strong influence over the entire video hosting industry. So, in essence, Google is just getting more direct control over a lawsuit that is important for its existing and future business. And when it comes to lawsuits, Google has top-drawer talent (both in-house and in outside law firms), strategic vision, and a stellar track record. Google's executives (like AOL's and Yahoo's before them) understand that shaping the legal precedents is a critical part of their business."</i><br /><br />An interesting Q&amp;A from a legal standpoint - though it takes make me somewhat leery reading the way this EFF lawyer talks about Google winning copyright infringement lawsuits as always being a good thing. If I was a creative type who was selling a TV show I created on iTunes, and someone was putting it up in segments on YouTube, I wouldn't be all that happy about it. Not everything that Google does is good, which people seem to forget.