CCIA's Black Weighs In On Viacom Lawsuit

File Under: 2007, CCIA, News

Mar 13, 2007

Commenting on reports that Viacom has sued YouTube and Google over copyright infringement allegations, CCIA President Ed Black made the following statement:

“This lawsuit represents another attack on balanced copyright by rightsholder interests who mistakenly believe they are the sole gatekeepers for how copyrighted works may be used. The fair use doctrine says otherwise. Much of the content on YouTube represents news, commentary, and criticism – these represent the heart of our fair use doctrine.”

“And for any content that is not protected by fair use, processes exist to resolve copyright concerns that do not involve firing off lawsuits. These disputes should be addressed under the carefully balanced notice-and-takedown system provided for in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. That system relieves service providers of the impossible obligation to affirmatively monitor the Internet. CCIA was an active participant in the DMCA negotiations that created this tool for rightsholders in 1998. Seemingly never satisfied, some mega-content companies are seeking to undo their deal and pressure innovative internet companies through specious litigation.”

“As an association whose diverse membership includes both rightsholders and innovative technology companies, we support robust copyright protection but recognize that copyright law must strike a balance. Unfortunately, some rightsholders are pushing an extreme agenda that rejects that balance."