Google to Fight Viacom Suit
CEO Eric Schmidt Denies Claims in Viacom’s $1B Lawsuit
By Steve Donohue -- Multichannel News, 7/15/2007 11:26:00 PM
Google plans to fight a $1 billion copyright suit filed against the Internet search giant by Viacom, CEO Eric Schmidt told reporters last week.
Viacom sued Google and its YouTube subsidiary in March, alleging that the companies broke copyright laws by running thousands of clips from MTV, Comedy Central and other Viacom properties on YouTube.com and Google Video.
But Google -- which attempted to strike a content-licensing deal with Viacom before the lawsuit was filed -- will fight Viacom’s claims, CEO Eric Schmidt told reporters late Thursday night at the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, AP reported.
Schmidt said he believed Google was acting within the law, AP said, adding that Viacom was “built on lawsuits ... look at their history.”
Responding to Schmidt’s statements, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone told reporters that Viacom only sues rival firms as a last resort.
“The bottom line is, I hate to fight. I don’t enjoy a battle. I would rather be a lover than a fighter,” Redstone told reporters Friday, AP said.
