FOOTBALL AND MUSIC JOIN FORCES AGAINST YOUTUBE
by Tamera H. BennettMay 8, 2007
England's leading soccer league, The Football Association Premier League Ltd. and Bourne Co., one of the oldest music publishing companies in the U.S., joined forces and filed a copyright infringement complaint on Friday, May 4, 2007 against YouTube, Inc., YouTube, LLC and Google, Inc.
The Plaintiff's allege copyright infringement via "direct infringement," "contributory infringement," and "vicarious infringement." Direct infringement occurs when a defendant themselves commit the act of infringement. Contributory infringement may be found when one who, with knowledge of the infringing activity, induces, causes or materially contributes to the infringing conduct of another. Vicarious liability attaches when one party has the right and ability to control the actions of another party and there is an obvious and direct financial interest in allowing the infringement.
The Premier League complaint requests certification of the law suit as a class action. This means other potentially damaged parties may be allowed to join the law suit as plaintiffs.
Plaintiff Premier League broadcasts its copyrighted programs in 204 countries to an estimated viewing audience of 2.59 billion. Plaintiff Bourne Co. was founded in Tin Pan Alley (New York) in 1919. Bourne represents many catalogs and songs which include "Inka Dinka Doo," "San Antonio Rose," and "Smile."
This lawsuit comes on the heels of the BBC demanding YouTube remove more than 100,000 videos of its TV show "Top Gear," the Japanese performing and mechanical rights society demanding removal of 30,000 music and video clips and the lawsuit filed against YouTube by Viacom in March 2007.
A blog that focuses on Google's Copyright Problems
Interested in joining the Class Action? This link takes you to the plaintiff's attorney's website
